Sapphic Giselle
by RealGayElsa
Summary: American National Ballet garners national attention with their upcoming production of Giselle. Resident choreographer Fa Mulan stirs the pot when she changes the lead male role of Albrecht to a female lead role – Alberta. What happens when acclaimed prima Regina Mills is cast alongside first-year corps de ballet member Emma Swan? Expect that rating to go up in later chapters.
1. The Gala

**Note:** Hello! Welcome to Sapphic Giselle. Full disclosure: I have no idea how many chapters this will be nor how often I will be able to update. I have an outline of where I want the story to go but I haven't mapped out chapters.

American National Ballet was a real company but they folded after roughly one month of existence. It was a mess. But, I like their name so I repurposed it for this story, sorry not sorry. I used to be a ballet dancer so consider this reputable. I'm sorry in advance for the jargon. ABT has an excellent ballet dictionary if you want to look anything up. If it's too difficult to understand please let me know and I'll try to adjust future chapters – this one isn't too jargon heavy but as we get into rehearsal and class scenes ballet terms might pop up.

Also note:

-"merde" does in fact mean "shit" in French, but for ballet dancers it's how we say good luck.

-rank: apprentice, corps de ballet, soloist, principal – just in case anyone didn't know corps de ballet translates to body of the ballet – so, the ensemble basically.

-Rep is short for repertoire

Enjoy!

* * *

The theater was filled with chatter as the guests filed in from the dinner portion of the evening. Backstage, the dancers were warming up and performing their usual pre-show rituals. As the house lights dimmed, the audience quieted and three individuals slipped out in front of the red velvet curtain and into the spotlight.

"Ladies and Gentlemen," began the tall blonde woman, "thank you for attending American National Ballet's annual Ballet Ball! Each year we gather together to celebrate this incredible organization and seek to take ballet to new heights. The work we do wouldn't be possible without your generous support. I hope you enjoy the performance portion of the evening; we have a delightful program put together for you. But first, a few remarks from our Artistic Director, Rupert Gold." Polite applause filled the space as Mallory Drake, the CEO of ANB, passed the microphone to Gold.

"Thank you again for being here," Gold started, in his thick Scottish accent. Despite years living in the United States, it never seemed to dilute. "We are grateful to have such a generous community supporting American National Ballet. This season has certainly been one for the books! We started off the year in classic style with Fa Mulan's beloved _Swan Lake_, followed by our mixed rep show in October featuring Alexei Ratmansky's _Pictures at an Exhibition_, Savannah Dunn's _Women,_ and William Forsythe's _In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated_. We waltzed into the holiday season with Washington D.C.'s favorite _Nutcracker_. Our spring season began with a dazzling run of George Balanchine's_ Jewels_, followed by a more contemporary mixed rep show featuring Leslie Telford's _Anamnesis_, Christopher Wheeldon's _After the Rain_, and Crystal Pite's _Emergence_. That brings us to here and now." He gestured wide with his arms, before continuing. "I'll let you read the repertoire for this evening in your programs, but I would like to take a moment to talk about our upcoming run of shows and our season finale: Fa Mulan's brand-new staging of the beloved romantic ballet, _Giselle_!"

The crowd applauded politely, as the second woman standing next to Gold waved tentatively from the stage.

"This staging will be completely unique," he stated with eyebrows raised. "Everyone says that before they restage a ballet, but this time it really does ring true. In Mulan's new staging, our beloved peasant girl not be falling for the roguishly handsome Count Albrecht, but rather the boldly beautiful Count_ess _Alberta."

Several soft gasps could be heard throughout the audience. At the beginning of the season, Mulan's new staging of _Giselle_ had been announced but the company had been very tight-lipped about what exactly to expect.

Backstage, the dancers paused what they were doing and stared at the backside of the curtain in confusion.

"Did she just say what I think she said?" blurted a tall blonde dancer sporting a pastel pink romantic tutu.

She was promptly shushed by her lanky brunette companion in a matching costume. "Careful Emma, the curtain isn't that thick!" Ruby whispered urgently. Emma lifted her arms in a defensive gesture. Dancers broke out in whispers around the stage.

"Didn't realize we would be doing _Sapphic Giselle_ as our season finale…" muttered Emma to Ruby. "I mean, I'm all for it, but it seems a little ballsy given some of our board members…"

"I know what you mean," replied Ruby with an accompanying eyeroll. "It's 2019, you'd think they'd get with the program. Pretty sure our CEO is a flaming lesbian anyway – I'm surprised they haven't sniffed her out yet."

"Jesus Ruby…." admonished Emma.

"What? It's true. I'm positive she's sleeping with her assistant." Ruby insisted. "Ella comes out of her office after lunch every day with sex hair. Change my mind."

"Do you two mind finishing your gossip session later?" A nearby dancer snapped. Her dark brown hair was pulled into an elegant bun at the crown of her head, and a grey/blue flowing dress covered her petite frame. "Some of us are trying to focus and prepare for the performance that starts in five minutes."

"Sorry…" Emma offered insincerely. The shorter brunette huffed, and with an eyeroll turned back to her partner and resumed rehearsing. "It's too bad Regina's such a bitch, I want to look up to her so bad," whispered Emma to Ruby. Regina was one of two female principal dancers in the company. While her performance captivated both the audience and her fellow dancers, she had a reputation for being a bit of an ice queen.

"I know, it's a pity," conceded Ruby. "Wanna go get some last-minute rosin on our shoes and listen to the rest of the speeches? I think Mulan's talking about Giselle and I'm actually pretty curious what this whole thing is about."

"Yeah, good idea," replied Emma. The pair wove between dancers to get off stage into the wings. Each took a turn dabbing their feet in the rosin box and crushing the small yellow crystals with the tips of their pointe shoes. Out in front of the curtain, Mulan now held the audience's attention with her comments on Giselle.

"As a queer woman, I wanted to tell the story I never get to see. Ballet is the most gendered art form out there – to the point where men and women actually train differently. You can look at any painting or sculpture and the artist's gender isn't inherently obvious; you can listen to any cello concerto and the gender of the composer, conductor, soloist, and other members of the orchestra is indecipherable. However, in dance, your body is your instrument. I think in the past we've been very bound by that but I don't think it has to be seen as a boundary. My restaging of Giselle is still going to be classical. This isn't a modern spin on a classical favorite. Alberta will wear a dress, and dance en pointe, and look very feminine, but she will also be partnering Giselle. Some lifts will likely have to be altered, but the pas de deux's will still be very recognizable. Queer can still be classical. I'm extremely lucky to be resident choreographer at ANB and to have been given this wonderful opportunity. I hope to see you all at the show! Thank you again for coming and supporting us this evening and enjoy the performance." Mulan smiled and gave a small bow as the audience erupted into applause. Mulan, Gold, and Mallory slipped back behind the curtain as the spotlight faded out.

"Places everyone!" Gold called out in hushed urgency as he and the two women walked toward the wings. The stage cleared quickly and Katherine and Frederick, two of the company's principals, took their places in the upstage wings for the opening piece: George Balanchine's _Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux_.

"Merde," Regina whispered to Katherine in the wing, earning a grin and a squeeze of the hand from her friend.

The music began as the curtain rose and the performance was off to a start. Katherine and Frederick moved effortlessly across the stage together to Tchaikovsky's music. The couple was a crowd favorite as one of two married couples in the company. Their chemistry off stage was something that carried over into performance quite well.

The conclusion of their pas de deux was met with thunderous applause, only to rise in volume when Fred planted a kiss on Katherine. The curtain closed and they hurried off stage with big smiles on their faces.

The gala continued with the _Mistake Waltz_ from Jerome Robbins' _The Concert. _Mary-Margaret, Lily, Ashley, Tiana, Merida, and Tink all in their powder blue tutus pulled laugh after laugh out of the audience with the humorous choreography and their over-the-top acting.

Emma and Ruby chuckled backstage as Mary-Margaret wiped out after a poorly executed arabesque. "That sure wasn't part of the choreography but I guess it fits," commented Emma with a laugh.

The waltz continued without mistakes – excluding the ones choreographed, of course – and was met with enthusiastic cheers as the curtain closed. The dancers exited the stage laughing as the piano was pushed back into the wings and a long strip of silvery grey fabric was laid out diagonally across the stage for the next piece.

Regina and Killian took their places on stage and the rest of the company took their places backstage to watch. Jessica Lang's _Among the Stars_ was not often performed, but when it was, it was captivating.

The lights faded up as the first notes of the piano cut through the silence. The entire audience held its breath as the pair began to dance. Regina's lithe frame moved effortlessly across the stage, creating a weightless and otherworldly quality. Every balance was sustained with control and her feet moved with surgical precision.

"How does she move like that?" Emma whispered to Ruby backstage. "Her precision is machine-like, but she doesn't look robotic."

"Why do you think she was promoted to principal at age 20?" Countered Ruby. "She spent a year as an apprentice, a year in the corps, and was promoted straight to principal."

Regina continued to move gracefully across the stage, supported by Killian matching her every move. The silvery skirt of her dress floated behind her like water. The violin told a tale of love and longing that matched their movements perfectly. They finished the piece separated on either side of the fabric, like how they began. The audience remained silent for nearly five whole seconds before erupting in applause, springing quickly to their feet. Regina and Killian moved to the front of the stage together before taking their bow.

"You ready, Em?" asked Elsa from behind her.

"Born ready!" replied Emma with enthusiasm and a fist pump.

As the two embraced, Elsa whispered in Emma's ear, "I'm proud of you little sis."

"Come on, don't get sappy on me now," wined Emma before releasing Elsa from her embrace.

"Hey, I'm allowed to," insisted Elsa. "It's only your first season and you were chosen to perform in the gala! That's a big deal!"

"Yeah, yeah," chuckled Emma. "Let's just get out there and do what we do best, shall we?"

Elsa laughed as they moved out onto the stage for the beginning of George Balanchine's _Valse Fantasie_. "Merde," said Elsa, with one last hug. Emma repeated the word back to her and took her starting position.

_Valse_ took off in typical Balanchine fashion with plenty of off-balance extensions and quick jumping sequences. Emma, Elsa, Belle, and Aurora moved in perfect unison behind Ruby and David. The pink tulle of their tutus swirled around them gracefully as they moved around the stage. There was something so freeing about dancing Balanchine. His rep was notoriously difficult but the full-bodied movement created an incredible feeling of flying.

The piece came to a close and the dancers took their bow. Once the stage was cleared, everyone went downstairs to the dressing rooms to get cleaned up and join the party. Emma sat splayed out on her chair in nothing but her bra and underwear in an attempt to cool off.

"Do you mind?" said Regina condescendingly as she passed by in her floor length plum colored dress.

"Not all of us have a shower and fluffy towels in our dressing room," replied Emma defensively. "Some of us have to air dry before putting on our dresses."

Regina rolled her eyes and continued walking towards the stairs up to the green room.

"Man, you better be careful," warned Ruby. "She really has had it out for you since you dented her car."

"That was an accident!" exclaimed Emma, waving her arms in the air. "The wind caught my door and blew it into hers. It's not my fault she parked so close to the line."

"I'm just sayin'," replied Ruby with her hands up in a defensive gesture and a chuckle. "Be careful."

Emma sighed and stood up to finish getting ready. She patted herself off one last time with a wad of paper towels before slipping into her short red dress. Ruby donned her tight black gown and the pair made their way to the green room. They quickly found Elsa at the bar and used their drink vouchers to order a round of drinks. The trio laughed as they drank and combed over the evening's performance.

Meanwhile, across the room, Regina was having a significantly less enjoyable time.

"Regina dear, you really need to work on those feet of yours," said Cora sternly. "I knew as soon as you were born that you'd never have feet like Svetlana Zhakarova, but couldn't you at least stretch them a few times a day?"

"I stretch constantly, mother," Regina said in a low voice. She kept her eyes fixed on her glass of wine rather than make eye contact with her disapproving mother. Her usual intimidating demeanor nowhere to be seen. "The company physical therapist said if I push them any harder, I'll damage the tendons and compromise the stability of my ankles."

"Please. That dolt, Whale, hardly knows what he's talking about," said Cora dismissively. "He only became a physical therapist because his dance career was a flop."

Regina furrowed her brow before continuing, "He danced with ANB for ten years…"

"Yes, well, he never made it out of the corps did he?" Cora challenged.

Regina sighed and took a long sip from her wine. Just as Cora opened her mouth to let out what was sure to be another scathing remark, Katherine appeared at Regina's side.

"Cora, it's so nice to see you!" exclaimed Katherine with almost believable enthusiasm. "Thank you so much for coming out to support ANB at the Ball this year. I hate to interrupt, but Gold sent me to fetch Regina."

Cora stiffened. "Well, I wouldn't want to keep him waiting," she conceded begrudgingly. She breathed out heavily and turned to Regina, "Think about what I said Regina, and consider that personal trainer I connected you with, too. Your arms look like they've lost a bit of tone lately."

Regina gave a barely perceptible nod of her head towards her mother before following Katherine towards the green room. "What does Gold want now?" she asked tiredly.

"Oh nothing, I just know how Cora heckles you after every performance." Katherine stated over her shoulder. "Besides, Fred and I are hosting the after party and we have to go get everything ready before the other dancers start arriving. Come help me and save yourself the next hour of schmoozing with board members. That's why we have a development department, right?" She grinned. Katherine hated making small talk with donors and board members. They so often had no idea what they were talking about and she had little patience for laypeople.

Regina chuckled at her friend, "Thank you, Kat. I normally don't mind schmoozing so much when mother isn't around, but she just wouldn't give it a rest tonight." She sighed and rubbed at her temples.

"Then grab your bag and let's sneak out the stage door!"

The two women snagged Fred out of a conversation with David and Killian before grabbing their bags from the dressing room and loading it into Katherine's car. 20 minutes later, the group arrived at Katherine and Fred's home and started preparing for the arrival of the guests.

. . .

Just over an hour later, the house was filled with other members of the company. Regina had changed from her gown into a pair of black leather leggings, a one shoulder ivory colored top, and a pair of killer heels. After an hour of non-stop chopping fruit, vegetables, and cheese cubes for the appetizer trays Regina needed a break. She wove through a sea of guests mingling and dancing to Lizzo until she found a (relatively) quiet spot on the sofa in the study. She was glad to see her colleagues enjoying themselves but she wasn't normally one to party. Behind her caustic remarks she was quite reserved. Of course, having Cora Mills as your mother didn't really help in the way of normal adult friendships. Most of Cora's "friendships" were just strategic alliances made to further advance her social status. Katherine was Regina's only real friend. When Regina joined the company at 18, her and Katherine had clicked right away – despite the four-year age gap. Over the last 10 years, the two women had become increasingly close. Regina had been honored when Katherine asked her to be her maid of honor at her wedding four years prior.

Regina sipped her wine and relaxed into the couch. She milled over the details of the evening's performance. She knew her feet weren't _bad_, but she was painfully aware that she didn't inherit her mother's unrealistic arches. Her mother's constant criticism was exhausting. Realistically, she knew she was a great dancer – after all, why else would she have been promoted to principal dancer at age 20? But her mother's words continued to bounce around in her head. Not flexible enough, not thin enough, not good enough.

She looked up when she heard the door to the study open. Upon recognizing the intruder, Regina sighed and moved to get up and leave.

"No, don't get up," Emma stated. Regina raised her eyebrows skeptically but didn't stand up from the sofa. "I just wanted to say how much I enjoyed your performance this evening. It was really beautiful," Emma said earnestly. "That's one of my favorite pieces and I know Jessica Lang is pretty picky about who she lets perform it. I think you did it justice."

"Well," Regina began coldly. "Thank you for that assessment. The next time I need your approval I'll be sure to ask for it. I suppose the polite thing here would be to compliment your performance as well. Your jumps had a nice energy, but I think your pirouettes left something to be desired. Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to go find Katherine to say goodnight."

"Oh, come on Regina," whined Emma.

"Do you mind moving?" She asked brusquely. "You're blocking the door." Just as the words left her mouth, Killian chose that moment to open the door into Emma's back, causing her to spill her vodka cranberry all over Regina's front.

"Heyyyyy ladies!" exclaimed Killian with a drunken slur, clearly not realizing what he had just caused. The two women stood frozen in place. Emma, with her eyes and mouth wide open, and Regina with her shoulders practically up to her ears and her eyes screwed shut in disbelief.

"Rreginaa, I wass juss comin to look fer ya," Killian slurred. He attempted to weave an arm around her waist only to be shoved out of the way as Regina stormed from the room.

"Fuck!" Emma exclaimed under her breath as she was shocked out of her stupor. She chased after Regina en route to the bathroom. "Regina, I'm so sorry!"

"Sorry doesn't sweeten my tea, Swan," Regina hostilely tossed back at her. She aggressively flipped on the lights to asses the damage. Luckily the wine could be wiped right off her leggings, but her ivory shirt was ruined. Emma frantically wet a towel and attempted to start blotting at Regina's shirt.

"Do you mind sparing me the pat down?" Regina snarled. Emma's eyes bulged upon the realization that she was practically groping Regina's chest through the towel.

Emma quickly snapped her hands back. "I'm so sorry, I'm just trying to help!" she exclaimed helplessly. "I have an extra shirt in my bag by the door, you can have it so you don't have to wear a sticky one home."

"That's quite enough," Regina snapped. "I will not be taking your shirt. Why don't you do something useful and leave me alone before you just make things worse."

"Please let me do something," Emma practically begged, absolutely horrified with the turn of events. She had somehow managed to take things with Regina from bad to worse in the span of five minutes.

"You are not needed or wanted here, Emma. Just get out!" exclaimed Regina as she hopelessly blotted at her ruined shirt.

Emma flinched at her words; old wounds reopened momentarily. After opening and closing her mouth a few times, she turned on her heel and left. She didn't even bother trying to find Ruby, she just made a beeline for the door, grabbed her bag and walked outside.

The cool mid-March air brought goosebumps to her skin and she wished she had thought to pack a jacket. Her black heels clacked loudly on the pavement against the quiet of the evening. She made it almost halfway to the metro station before her phone rang.

"What." She snapped into the receiver.

"Jesus, Em. Just wondering where you are?" Ruby replied defensively. "I thought we were taking a Lyft home together, but it looks like you left without me. What the fuck?"

"Sorry Ruby," sighed Emma in a defeated tone. "I spilled my drink all over Regina and had to escape before she crucified me."

Ruby sighed on the other end of the line. "Send me your location and I'll pick you up in a Lyft and we can go home." The line clicked off and Emma obligingly sent Ruby her location.

A short five minutes later a white Toyota Corolla with a glowing pink Lyft sign in the front windshield pulled up next to her along the sidewalk. The rear passenger door opened and Ruby beckoned for Emma to get in with a sour expression on her face. Emma got in and set her bag across her lap before buckling.

"What the hell, Emma?" Ruby demanded. "I know you can take care of yourself but it's nearly two in the morning! It's not safe to just be out walking around on your own, especially without having told anyone where you were going!"

"I know, I'm sorry Ruby," Emma mumbled apologetically. "She just struck a nerve and I didn't want to want to make you leave before you were ready. I should've just come and found you."

"Apology accepted," replied Ruby. "Just don't pull that again."

Emma nodded, "I won't."

The rest of the ride continued in silence. Ruby knew if Emma wanted to talk about what upset her, she would bring it up herself. After just seven months of knowing her she had picked up on a lot. Emma was much more reserved with her feelings than most of Ruby's other friends and she had learned to be patient with Emma. Pushing her only caused her to pull back further.

Fifteen minutes later their Lyft pulled up to their apartment building and they exited the car. They entered the building and walked up the stairs until they reached Ruby's apartment.

"Thank you for coming to get me," said Emma, while looking at her feet. "I really do appreciate it and I know I should have just come and found you in the first place."

Emma suddenly found herself wrapped in a tight embrace. "Oh Emma," Ruby sighed. "You're welcome. It's what friends do. I'm just glad you're safe."

Emma returned the hug before taking a step back. "Well, goodnight. I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Of course, neighbor!" replied Ruby cheerfully. And with that Emma continued her ascent up the stairs to the fifth floor. She unlocked her door to her empty apartment. She was grateful to finally have her own space, but at times she missed having a roommate or at least someone there to see when she got home. Having Ruby just two floors away definitely helped. She hung her keys on the hook by the door, removed her pinching heels and walked through the apartment to her bedroom.

She dropped her bag on the floor and unceremoniously collapsed onto her mattress. What a day. The incredible high of performing was something that usually took a while for her to come down from. However, this time the high had been tampered significantly by her tiff with Regina. She just didn't understand what she could have done to deserve such hostility from her. Aside from the dented car door – which was totally fixable, to be clear – and now the stained ivory top – which was totally ruined, to be fair – she just didn't understand what she could have done. Emma had always kept more to herself and tried not to let others' opinions of her get her down but there was something about Regina that she just couldn't shake.

Sighing, she forced herself to get up off the bed and ready herself to go to sleep. After removing the plethora of pins from her French twist and running a brush through her hair she turned the shower on full blast. There was something so emotionally cleansing about washing away the grime of another day. After washing the stage from her body and drying off, Emma slipped on a pair of boyshorts and crawled into bed. It hardly took more than five seconds after her head hit the pillow for her to fall asleep.

Emma slept soundly until Ruby's obnoxious ringtone pulled her from sleep at 7am. Emma declined the call and rolled over, determined to stay in bed until at least 9. Ruby clearly had other plans, however. Emma's phone started ringing again not five seconds after she declined the first call. Emma groaned long and low before bring the phone to her ear.

"Jesus, Ruby it's 7am, what do you want?" Emma whined.

"Have you checked your email yet?" Ruby asked in a rush.

"No, of course not. I was sleeping until you called. Why are you even awake?" Emma countered. Ruby had a tendency to be an early riser but after their late night she hadn't expected to hear from her quite so early.

"Check your email, and then call me back."

"Ru-" Emma sighed as she pulled the phone away from her ear, realizing that her friend had already hung up on her. What could possibly be so important that she had to wake her up at 7am for? Emma opened her mail app and froze immediately. At the top of her inbox sat an email from Rupert Gold. Subject line: Giselle Cast List and Rehearsal Schedule.

Emma swallowed heavily before clicking open the email. She opened the excel spreadsheet containing the list and her stomach dropped. There at the top of the list she saw:

Giselle: Regina Mills

Alberta: Emma Swan

* * *

**Notes: **

Let me know if that was interesting? Constructive criticism is welcome.

Not that anyone cares:

I saw Among the Stars performed by Yuan Yuan Tan and Clifton Brown at a gala back in 2013 and was just enraptured. The whole thing isn't available online but there's a 2-minute clip on youtube if you search TITAS Command Performance 2010. 10/10 would recommend checking it out. Unfortunately, the fabric isn't featured much in this clip, but it was such a bizarre material in the way it behaved. I can't figure out what it was made of.

Anyway, all of the repertoire in this fic is real (except Mulan and Gold's pieces obvi) and can be found online if you try hard enough. I'll shut up now :)


	2. The Cast List

Notes: Thank you so much for all the kind comments! Enjoy the next installment :)

* * *

Regina awoke early on Sunday to the sun streaming through her windows. She groaned as she stretched out under her comforter and heard a few joints pop. She rolled over and reached to grab her phone off her nightstand. The time read 7:00am. A sigh escaped her lips. She had planned on sleeping until 8 after such a late night but her body's internal clock apparently had other plans. She scrolled down to check her notifications only to freeze when she saw an email from Rupert Gold with the subject line: Giselle Cast List and Rehearsal Schedule. By now, she expected to receive the lead role – each production her and Katherine seemed switched off for the most part. But this time she was curious to see who the other leading lady would be. She guessed Katherine but there was something about Mulan's announcement that made her second guess.

_Company dancers,_

_Please see attached cast list and week one rehearsal schedule for Giselle. Enjoy your three-day break and rest up from this weekend's gala. It was a successful evening and our development department has confirmed that we surpassed our fundraising goal of $1 Million! See you all on Wednesday for class and rehearsal._

_As always, stay tuned for updates and changes._

_Rupert Gold, __Artistic Director | __American National Ballet_

Regina clicked open the attached excel sheet and felt her stomach drop. "Fuck," she muttered under her breath.

**_Act I_**

_Giselle_: Regina Mills

_Alberta, Countess of Silesia_: Emma Swan

_Hilarion, the village woodsman_: Killian Jones

_Wilfried, Alberta's squire_: Phillip Desiré

_Baldemar, Duke's son and Alberta's fiancée_: Frederick Midas

_Duke of Courtland_: Graham Humbert

_Berthe, Giselle's Mother_: Pocahontas Clark

_Peasant Pas de Deux_: David Nolan & Mary-Margaret Blanchard

_Giselle's friends_: Elsa Arendelle, Aurora Desiré, Marian Locksley, Lily Page

_Peasants_: Jasmine Agrabah, Ashley Boyd, Merida DunBroch, Jane Forest, Alice Kingsleigh, Moana Maui, Ariel Mer, Kida Nedakh, Tiffany Novak, Perdita Radcliffe, Megara Thebes, Tiana Williams, Li Shang, August Booth

_Court_: Jessie Anderson, Esmeralda Dame, Wendy Darling, Nala Lionne, Violet Parr, Lilo Pelekai, Kristoff Bjorgman, Neal Cassidy, Naveen Maldonia, Eric Terre, Samuel Meachum, William Scarlett

**_Act II_**

_Myrtha_: Katherine Midas

_Monna_: Ruby Lucas

_Zyulma_: Belle French

_Wilis_: Jasmine Agrabah, Jessie Anderson, Elsa Arendelle, Ashley Boyd, Esmeralda Dame, Wendy Darling, Aurora Desiré, Merida DunBroch, Jane Forest, Alice Kingsleigh, Nala Lionne, Marian Locksley, Moana Maui, Ariel Mer, Kida Nedakh, Tiffany Novak, Lily Page, Violet Parr, Lilo Pelekai, Joy Poehler, Perdita Radcliffe, Megara Thebes, Tiana Williams

She continued to stare at the cast list in disbelief until her phone started ringing in her hand. She groaned loudly before covering her face with one hand and bringing the phone to her ear with the other.

"Good morning, mother," she said neutrally into the receiver.

"Good morning, Regina. I wanted to discuss the casting for Mulan's new _Giselle_with you," her mother said in a serious tone.

Regina had long given up trying to figure out how her mother got advance access to casting information ahead of the public but was surprised she had managed to obtain the information at the same time as the company this time, if not before. Unsure what direction Cora would take the conversation, Regina hesitantly replied, "okay…"

"I think this is going to be a wonderful opportunity for your career and for the company," Cora continued. Regina's eyebrows raised at this. Cora wasn't exactly homophobic… but she wasn't exactly supportive of the LGBT+ community either. "Nowadays the gays are really coming into fashion and I think this will set the company up well for new areas of support. I think there's going to be a lot of press over this – admittedly not all of it good, you know how the republicans are with this sort of thing – but I think this is a great chance for you to really soak up the spotlight and get your name out there, potentially on an international level."

Regina was too shocked by her mother's words to even respond. "Now, what can you tell me about this Swan girl?" Cora continued. "I've never had the opportunity to talk to her but I've noticed her dancing a few times this season. I thought she was brilliant in _Emergence_this spring."

Regina cringed at her mother's words. She couldn't deny that Emma was a good dancer but she couldn't stand her cavalier attitude and inability to take anything seriously. Dented car door and stained shirt aside, there was something about her personality that just grated on Regina's nerves.

"Yes, she is talented," Regina conceded. "Her cavalier attitude and carelessness I don't exactly appreciate, however."

"Hmmm. Well, I'm sure she'll get it together. The pressure here is enormous," Cora continued calmly. "How strong is she? I can't imagine any woman being able to press another over their head but Mulan can't seriously be taking out all the lifts…"

"I don't know, mother," Regina replied tiredly. "I'm sure we'll find out at our first rehearsal on Wednesday."

"I hope this makes you seriously consider that personal trainer Regina. You really could stand to lose a few pounds," Cora suggested pointedly.

"I'll call him tomorrow," Regina agreed begrudgingly.

"Excellent. Well, I've got to be going. I've got brunch with Megyn Kelly at 10, and a meeting with Rachel Maddow at 2, and I have to get my hair done. Talk soon!" and with that, the line went dead.

Regina stared at her phone in disbelief. What on earth was her mother playing at? Did she think she was the PR department of the company? Cora's persistent meddling was undeterrable and permeated all levels of Regina's life from personal, to professional. Regina was left feeling like a dress-up doll most of the time, the way her mother handed her around and showed her off to her rich and powerful "friends."

Just as Regina was about to place her phone back on her nightstand to get another half an hour of sleep it vibrated in her hand signifying a text from her best friend.

_Kat: I'm coming over with champagne. Do you have orange juice?_

Regina sighed before responding. _Yes, I bought some for the party yesterday but forgot to bring it to your house._

_Kat: Perfect. See you in forty-five minutes_

Regina took a deep breath before sitting up in bed and running a hand through her hair. She knew it looked a mess. She had showered after arriving at home last night after her disastrous encounter with Emma and gone to bed with wet hair. Her natural curl turned her hair into a lion's mane if she didn't carefully style it.

She yawned and got up from her spacious queen-sized bed, padding over to the bathroom to at least pull her hair back from her face. At this point, Katherine had seen her at her worst so she didn't bother putting on makeup. She simply slipped her knee-length silk robe over her pajamas and walked out to the kitchen.

Regina set to work putting together a quick quiche, knowing she wouldn't handle mimosa's well on an empty stomach if she wanted to actually get anything done that day. There were fifteen minutes left on the timer when Katherine finally arrived.

Regina buzzed Katherine up and was greeted at the door by her friend grinning ear to ear and holding a big bottle of champagne. "Congratulations!" she cried. "This is your first time dancing Giselle, right? I don't think the company has done it since you became a principal. Are you excited?"

Regina pursed her lips and tilted her head a bit before saying "I'd be a lot more excited if I had a reliable partner…"

"Oh, come on, Regina," said Katherine, exasperated. "I know she really rubs you the wrong way but she's a nice girl, and a great dancer!"

"She is cavalier and careless," stated Regina matter-of-factly with her hands on her hips. "She is incapable of taking anything seriously. It's a wonder she made it this far with the way she behaves."

"Regina, darling, compared to your level of over-caring I can see how she would come off as cavalier," Katherine said with a laugh. "But I think she has really proven herself. She handled Crystal Pite's _Emergence_beautifully and absolutely killed it in Ratmansky's _Pictures at an Exhibition_. I think once you spend some time with her in the studio she'll grow on you."

"We'll see about that," Regina scoffed.

Katherine smirked and walked into the kitchen to get out the champagne flutes for mimosas. "You've really got to lighten up. I think this might actually be fun. Plus, you'll get a nice break from Killian. I know he tends to be a bit overly-handsy as a partner."

"I guess," stated Regina as the timer on the oven went off. "I made quiche! Why don't we just talk about that for a while instead."

Katherine snorted. "Sure."

The two women went about setting the table and Regina plated the quiche and cut up some fruit for them. They chatted amicably throughout the meal, enjoying their food and reminiscing about the performance the evening before. The only talk of _Giselle_was of Katherine's excitement to debut as Myrtha. As a taller dancer, it was something she had expected at some point in her career. The role was demanding in a different way than the title role. By the time they finished their meal Regina was feeling much more relaxed.

After the dishes were washed and dried and the leftovers put away, Katherine made her exit to care for a desperately hungover Fred. Regina bid her goodbye and agreed to meet her at the gym later in the afternoon to hit the hot tub and soothe their aching muscles. The days after a performance always required some bodily TLC. Regina sighed and tried to avoid thinking about what Wednesday would bring for the remaining hours until Katherine would no doubt bring it up again.

_Act I_

_Giselle begins in the German Rhineland where a small village is preparing for a festival in celebration of their grape harvest. A young girl named Giselle loves to dance but has a weak heart. One morning, she meets a handsome young woman named Liesl. The two quickly fall in love, but little does Giselle know, Liesl is actually the Countess Alberta of Silesia disguised as a peasant. The two swear their love to one another but are interrupted by Hilarion, the village woodsman. Hilarion has long pined for Giselle but she makes her affections for Liesl very clear. Hilarion is suspicious of Liesl and vows to himself to uncover the truth and split up the happy couple._

_Giselle and Liesl make their way back to the village where they are met by Giselle's friends who all join together in dance. Giselle quickly tires and her mother, Berthe, scolds her for dancing and putting her heart at risk. She tells the gathered crowd the story of the Wilis, the spirits of young women who died before their wedding day and are cursed to spend eternity dancing in the forest. Berthe fears this fate for her daughter and brings her inside, away from all the excitement, and Liesl takes her leave._

_The sound of horns fills the air as a hunting party arrives in the village square. Hilarion returns and breaks into the hit where Liesl has hidden her things. The hunting party is led by the Duke of Courtland and his son, Baldemar, seeking sustenance and a bit of rest._

_Giselle emerges and tends to the guests. Baldemar and Giselle engage in conversation and discover they are each engaged. Baldemar enjoys Giselle so much she presents her with his own necklace as a gift. Giselle dances for him as thanks._

_The party retire to Giselle's cottage for some rest. Hilarion emerges from Liesl's hut holding her sword. He notices the hunting horn hanging from Giselle's door and discovers that the coat of arms borne on each are identical. Feeling vindicated, Hilarion prepares to expose Liesl but is interrupted by the return of the villagers. He hides the sword once again and lays in wait._

_Giselle's friends return and crown her queen of the harvest. Liesl and Giselle dance together among the villagers in celebration. The festivities are suddenly interrupted by an angry Hilarion who informs the crowd that Liesl is not who she says she is. He reveals the sword as proof and uses the horn to call the hunting party. _

_The party returns and Liesl, or Alberta, can no longer conceal her identity. Not only is she a noblewoman, she is engaged to be married. Giselle is distraught beyond sense and descends into madness. She dances through the crowd in a demented imitation of her earlier steps with Liesl She picks up Liesl's discarded sword and stabs herself. Weakened both physically and emotionally, Giselle collapses in Liesl's arms and dies of a broken heart._

_Act II_

_Giselle's body is buried in the forest, near a lake. Hilarion visits her grave to grieve but upon sensing the presence of the Wilis he takes his leave. _

_In the forest, Myrtha, Queen of the Wilis, gathers her subjects to begin Giselle's initiation into their sisterhood. The Wilis disperse and hide among the trees while Alberta walks through the forest to grieve Giselle at her burial site and to seek her forgiveness. Giselle appears in her ghost-like state and Alberta chases after her, desperate to feel her in her arms once more. In the meantime, Hilarion has be discovered by the Wilis. Following Myrtha's orders, they force him to dance until exhaustion takes over. They cast him into the lake, where he drowns._

_Alberta's presence is revealed next and Myrtha commands the same fate for her. Giselle attempts to intervene, instructing that she take shelter at the cross of her grave, where she can protect her. However, the vengeful Myrtha orders Giselle to dance and soon Alberta is drawn to her. The couple dance together, all the while begging the Wilis to help them, but to no avail._

_Alberta begins to lose stamina and begs Myrtha to release her. She refuses. Giselle begs again, but Myrtha remains resolute. Alberta continues dancing until she collapses from exhaustion. However, the first rays of dawn begin to permeate the darkness of the forest, casting the Wilis and their queen away. Giselle returns to her grave and Alberta is overwhelmed by her love for Giselle and her gratitude upon receiving forgiveness. She is left weeping alone at Giselle's grave as the sun rises on another day._

Emma finished reading the attached synopsis after perusing the rest of the cast list. She was still in a state of complete shock. She couldn't believe she had been cast in a principal role alongside Regina Mills. It would have been a dream come true if Regina didn't totally hate her guts. She was an incredible dancer and Emma knew she could learn so much from her – if only she could get in her good graces. This role was something she had dreamed of for so long. Well, not exactly _this_role…she had always assumed she would be cast as Giselle or even Myrtha when she finally reached the necessary rank, artistic maturity, and technical proficiency. She knew she ought to be excited to be given the opportunity, but all she felt was a pit of dread in her stomach and a voice in the back of her head telling her she wasn't good enough to pull it off.

_Giselle_was an intimidating ballet to perform. The character range of Giselle from innocent lovestruck young girl to the hauntingly raw emotion within the mad scene was truly daunting. For Albrecht, or rather Alberta, Emma supposed, there wasn't quite as dramatic a range but there were still so many nuances to the character that had to be decided. One could choose to play an intentional deceiver, just out for some fun, or one could choose to play a more genuine character, who doesn't exactly want to be noble and genuinely falls in love with Giselle. More often than not, dancers seemed to gravitate to the latter option. After all, who wants to play that unlikable of a character unless you're meant to be the main villain? Emma certainly counted herself in that group. She also didn't think she could do that to someone. Emma knew a thing or two about deception and just how damaging it could be if her childhood had anything to show.

Emma's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a loud banging on her front door. She pulled on a hoodie and walked out into the living room with a furrowed brow.

"Emma open up!" came a muffled voice from behind the door that was still taking a beating. Emma smirked, realizing it had to be Ruby.

She unlocked and opened the door and was nearly knocked over by an enthusiastic Ruby wrapping her up in a tight hug. "Emma, oh my god!" shrieked Ruby.

"Ruby calm down," said Emma, laughing. At least someone was excited for her. Emma was thrilled by the opportunity but the prospect of dancing with Regina simply terrified her. Add that to the fact that she knew Regina was likely storming around her own apartment fuming over casting right about now.

Ruby unwrapped her arms from Emma and put her hands on either side of her face, squishing her cheeks slightly and causing her to look a bit fish-like. "You got cast as Alberta! Holy shit! We have to celebrate!"

Emma pulled Ruby's hands away from her face and rolled her eyes bemusedly. "Can we celebrate later? I haven't even had breakfast yet."

"Fine, put on some clothes and let's go get breakfast," Ruby replied. She took Emma's hand and pulled her into her bedroom. She began rifling through Emma's dresser and tossing out clothes. "Here, just put on some leggings and your ANB jacket. Garden Table is already open." Ruby had come over already dressed in practically the same outfit.

Emma sighed, knowing she wouldn't win this round. She fished a pair of appropriate underwear out of her top drawer and pulled them on, followed by her favorite maroon colored leggings. Once she completed her look with a sports bra under her ANB jacket she threw her hair up in a ponytail and the duo walked out the door.

It was a quick fifteen-minute walk from their apartment building to the restaurant. Being as early as it was, they got a table right away. After taking their seats, Ruby rested her chin in her hand and stared at Emma expectantly. Emma shot her a pointed glare and opened up her menu, holding it in front of her face.

"Oh, come on Em!" exclaimed Ruby. "Can't you at least pretend to be excited?"

"Ruby," Emma whined, setting her menu down and fiddling with her silverware. "I'm honored to have been chosen but Regina is going to murder me in rehearsal. I'll breathe wrong or something and she'll bite my head off! And, let's not forget that I've never danced a lead role before! I'm a first-year corps member who's never had to play anything outside a 2-dimensional character. The actual steps aren't what makes me nervous – although I have to admit, the partnering I'm not so comfortable with – but I've never had to act like that. I've danced a wide range of roles but I've never had to actually tell a story. I don't know how I'm going to be able to pull this off. Mulan should have picked someone who knows what they're doing."

"Emma," stated Ruby, stilling Emma's fidgeting fingers by covering them with her own. "You're going to be great. You are by far the strongest dancer in the corps, you're more driven that half the company, and you never back down from a challenge. Is this going to be hard? Yes. Harder than any other role you've had to dance before? Absolutely. But I believe in you and I know you can do this! If you're worried about the partnering, I'm sure any of the guys in the company would be willing to help you. David and Li Shang are always hitting the gym and every Sunday after class they work on partnering stuff. I'm sure they would be happy to have you tag along and they can coach you. As for Regina, she's going to have to get over it. While you seem to have somehow ended up on her bad side, you're both professionals. You just keep at it with your usual work ethic and I'm sure she'll come around. Plus, you know she's the most hardcore dancer in this company. There's no way she's not going to give this 110%. If she keeps treating you like shit, this won't go well for her either. I really think it's going to be fine."

Emma sighed. "I guess. I dunno. I'm just really nervous about it. It probably wouldn't be a bad idea to ask David and Shang for help."

"Emma, I promise you're going to be great. You just have to believe in yourself."

"Thanks Rubes. I really do appreciate the support," replied Emma. "I just get in my head sometimes…"

"Good thing you have me to keep you on track then!" Ruby grinned. "Now, what are you going to order for breakfast? I think I'm going to get the quinoa breakfast bowl."

"I was thinking that too, I love a good poached egg with my quinoa," Emma replied. Their server came over and took their orders, returning with two almond milk lattes as requested a couple of minutes later.

"So, are you excited to be Monna? You'll be dancing opposite Belle's Zyulma" Emma continued with a smirk. Ruby's not so subtle crush on Belle French had consumed much of their conversation as of late ever since they had kissed as part of a drinking game at the cast party after the March mixed rep show.

Ruby made a poor attempt to hide her blush behind her large latte mug. "Emmaaaaaa," she wined.

"Hey, you got to harass me about my role. So that means I get to harass you about yours," Emma rebutted matter-of-factly. "Those are the rules of reciprocity."

"I hardly count what I did harassment. Although if I find out you have a secret crush on Regina you haven't been telling me about, I'll definitely have to start harassing you!"

"Trust me, I don't think you'll need to worry about that," said Emma with a laugh.

"Never know," said Ruby with a shrug. "She's gorgeous and you'll be all up in her personal space starting in just three days. I wouldn't blame you if you did."

"First of all, I'm not going to be 'all up in her personal space' as you so tastelessly put it," Emma scoffed. "And second of all, I'm not even into women."

Ruby rolled her eyes in an exaggerated but amused fashion. "Oh, Emma. First of all, that's what partnering _is_. And second of all, I don't buy that lie for a second. If you're not ready to shout it from the rooftops, fine, I get it, but don't think I don't know what's really going on here. I'm your best friend, it's my job to know these things."

Emma suddenly became very interested in her cuticles. Her sexuality was something very few people knew about. And by very few, that meant only Elsa, a few of her classmates from the JKO school, and the handful of women Emma had actually slept with.

Sensing her friend's distress, Ruby immediately backpedaled. "Hey, Em, I'm sorry. If that's something you're really not ready to share that's okay. We don't have to talk about it but know that I'm here if and when you're ready."

Emma sighed, continuing to look down at her hands. "Maybe someday. I just had a rough time with it when I was first figuring it all out. A few of the girls at the JKO school were less than thrilled about it so I just don't want to make anyone uncomfortable here."

"I'm sorry that you had to go through that Emma. I do want to say though that ANB is actually a really supportive place. Shang and Neal are engaged and we're literally all invited to their wedding this summer. Everyone knows about Jasmine and Meg and I'm pretty sure Merida has something going on with Mulan. There are so many queer dancers and even administrative staff. If and when you're ready, I know you will get the support you deserve and need," Ruby reassured.

"Thanks, Rubes," Emma replied somberly, finally meeting her eye. "We can talk about it more another time when we're not out in public, but for now can we talk about something else?"

"Of course," said Ruby with a warm smile. Their food arrived shortly after and the two friends devoured their meals. They kept the conversation lighter from there and walked home later from the restaurant laughing all the way.

* * *

Note: A lot of the places in this fic are not actually in DC, but are in other places around the US that I've visited – just a fun little nugget for ya if you like to travel. Also note that JKO is not a homophobic place to my knowledge. Not tryna defame them, just needed some character backstory.

Thoughts on chapter two? Drop me a comment! Thanks for reading :)


	3. The First Rehearsal

**Note**: this is where lingo might get complicated. I'm doing my best to describe what they're doing while using ballet terms but let me know if I could do a better job. I really want this fic to be understandable but I still want to throw some terms in there to keep it authentic, ja feel? Anyway, enjoy day one of rehearsal!

* * *

Wednesday morning came early for Emma. She had enjoyed her three days rest and despite looking forward to getting back into the studio, she had never been a morning person. She had texted David on Sunday after breakfast with Ruby and asked if he would help her train. He had been like a big brother to her ever since she joined the company as an apprentice three years ago. He enthusiastically agreed after congratulating her on landing a lead role. She was set to meet him and Shang at the gym and a few of the other guys after rehearsal that afternoon to start training. She'd be damned if she didn't show Regina she was capable of taking this seriously.

Emma and Ruby caught the 7:30 metro around the corner to get to the studios. Emma had pulled her hair into a French twist that day - it always made her feel a little more professional - and had packed her favorite navy leotard with yellow trim. She needed all the help she could get for her first rehearsal with Regina today. After morning company class, she had a brief break and would then launch straight into Act I.

Emma strolled into studio 101 at 8:05 and set her stuff down at the barre along the mirror next to Regina, who was massaging Arnicare gel onto the front of her ankle. "Good morning, Regina," Emma said with a nervous smile.

"That's Katherine's spot," stated Regina without looking up.

"Oh, it's fine Regina," said Katherine from the doorway to the studio. "You two should probably start getting used to each other. I was going to stand with Ruby and Belle anyway so we can sync up our bad bitch vibes." Katherine winked.

Regina shot her a glare across the room. "Fine," she conceded bitterly and resumed massaging her ankle.

Emma swallowed thickly, feeling very uncomfortable. Katherine caught her eye across the room and smiled encouragingly at her. Emma tentatively smiled back before sitting down and pulling out her foam roller.

Emma dutifully went through her pre-class warm-up routine, rolling out her muscles to get her blood flowing and waking up her joints in a series of gentle leg swings. By 8:30 the studio was almost completely filled with dancers warming up for class with various Pilates-like exercises and other exercises prescribed by the company physical therapist to help keep persistent injuries at bay. Regina continued to put all her energy into ignoring Emma and Emma in turn put all her energy into being as quiet as possible and staying out of Regina's space in a desperate attempt to not piss her off.

Across the room, Ruby, Belle, and Katherine chatted excitedly about Act II while they all hovered in a plank together to get their abdominals muscles woken up. Smooth, Emma thought to herself proudly. They had briefly talked about Ruby's crush on Belle the day before when they were at the gym together. Ruby had seemed more nervous than Emma had ever remembered her being over a little crush. She couldn't blame her. Belle's Australian accent was pretty cute if she was honest with herself, and the woman was a pretty incredible dancer. She hoped for Ruby that something came of it. She had been throwing herself around at women and men when they went clubbing together seeking some sort of connection and Emma wanted better for her friend.

As the clock in the studio ticked over from 8:59 to 9:00, Miss Blue, one of the ballet mistresses, walked into the studio in her usual black turtle neck, black pants, and black heeled character shoes. Her hair was clipped back away from her face in a large butterfly clip, creating an imitation of a French twist. She set down her Whole Foods bag on a chair near the piano and pulled out her notebook and kombucha.

"доброе утро Natasha," she greeted the pianist. Miss Blue had danced in Russia with the Bolashoi for much of her career. When she made the hop across the pond, she had poached Natalia from the Bolshoi and brought her with. She was the only accompanist she was willing to work with. Blue's not so subtle flex of her claimed Russian roots (she had actually grown up and trained in Germany before joining the Bolshoi) was something the company had to tolerate. Her classes weren't always the most interesting but they sure exposed all the things you really needed to work on. Luckily, she only taught company class once a week managed very few rehearsals as she was more involved with ANB's academy. Wednesday's were always the hump day to end all hump days with her.

Blue and Natalia exchanged a few more words in Russian before she finally turned to the class. "Good morning dancers," she said in her odd high-pitched Russian influenced German accent. "We start with the usual warm up going into pliés. Natasha play me in 3/4."

The company took their positions facing the barre for Blue's signature warm up combination. As Natalia began to play the company moved in unison rolling through their feet, doing a number of _cambres _bending their upper bodies in different directions, and slow _tendus en crois_. After a quick balance in first position they transitioned into _pliés_. Their muscle memory took over as they bent and stretched their knees in each position, paying special attention to their alignment and turnout. Blue came around and made small adjustments to each dancer, tsking her tongue at a few dancers who just didn't quite have the 180-degree turnout she demanded.

The rest of barre continued in much the same meticulous fashion until they reached time for center. After _grand battements_ at the barre, the company cleared the portable barres from the center of the room and moved their bags and water bottles to the bleachers in the back of the studio.

"Principle couple front and center," Blue called out once the dancers had had a minute to take a drink and stretch a bit. "I've been told to keep you two together so you can really get in tune with one another."

Reinga cocked a disapproving eyebrow, but moved to the front of the room; her jaw set and her shoulders tense. Emma hesitantly inched forward until she was standing next to Regina front and center, while maintaining at least five feet of space between them. Blue looked them over with a bored expression before turning to face the mirror to begin teaching the first center combination. Most of the rest of class was fine after that other than the haughty tilt to Regina's chin and Emma's desire to just melt into the marley dance floor beneath them.

"Emma, can I be real with you?" asked Ruby as the duo exited the studio and headed down the hall.

"When are you not?..."

"Touché," replied Ruby thoughtfully before continuing. "You've _gotta_ grow a backbone when it comes to Regina. She'll never see you as an equal if you keep letting her walk all over you. I don't believe in calling people 'pussies,' but you're kind of being a pussy. Don't get me wrong, I feel for you, but you gotta stick up for yourself and show her you're serious."

Emma gaped at her friend for a minute, slightly outraged at her audacity. "You don't have to be so blunt about it."

"You needed to hear it and you know it," Ruby countered sternly but not without care. "I believe in you and I know you can do this. You're too in your head right now and you're letting it bog you down. Show Regina the bad ass Emma Swan that everyone else knows and loves."

Emma snorted. "We'll see." She promptly took an enormous bite of the apple she had packed as a snack that morning to avoid having to say any more words. Ruby rolled her eyes and took a swig of her smoothie.

"What studio are you in for your first rehearsal?" asked Ruby.

"We're down in 20," Emma replied around a mouthful of pulverized apple.

"Ooo, cozy," Ruby commented. Studio 20 was the smallest studio of six (two in the basement, three on the main level, and one on the second level), and didn't have any windows.

Emma rolled her eyes and hip checked her friend. "Whatever, Rubes. I'll see you later. Good luck in your rehearsal with Belle, hope you can string together more than three words when she starts talking to you." Emma quickly dodged her friend's elbow and laughed as she turned the corner to descend the stairs to the basement.

Reaching the bottom of the stairs, she steeled her nerves and entered the brightly lit studio to find Regina was already inside. She had shed her warmups from class to reveal a burgundy halter leotard with a v-cut neckline and a low back. In classic Regina fashion, she had color coordinated her rehearsal skirt for the day by selecting her chiffon knee-length ombre skirt that faded from burgundy to ivory.

"Hey," Emma said calmly as she dropped her bag by the piano. When she turned around, she was startled to find Regina was standing right in front of her, with her arms folded across her chest.

"I may not like you very much," she started, "but I am a professional and I take my work very seriously. This partnership will be very new and different for both of us. I am willing to be patient with you but you're going to have to step it up and get serious. Your cavalier attitude will not serve you here."

Emma took a deep breath, trying to remember Ruby's words. "Okay your highness, but you don't get to walk all over me anymore. In this rehearsal we are equals. I realize I'm at a disadvantage here in terms of experience but I am totally committed and ready to learn." She quickly realized the nickname probably hadn't been the best way to start her retort as the vein in Regina's forehead suddenly became more pronounced.

Just as Regina opened her mouth to retort, Mulan walked in the door. "Oh good, you're here already! I'm so excited to get started with you both." Regina closed her mouth and turned to face Mulan. Emma smirked to herself.

"I want to start off today by talking a little bit about why I cast the two of you and how I want things to work." Mulan began. "Firstly, I picked this studio for our first rehearsal because it doesn't have windows. Eventually we'll move up to studio 219 to enjoy the natural light, but I want you two to get comfortable with each other first, without feeling self-conscious because your nosey colleagues can't help but try to sneak peeks through the observation windows."

"Besides the obvious height factor here," –Regina stood at a petite 5'3", while Emma measured tall at 5'9"– "I think the two of you are more similar than you realize," she continued. Regina and Emma glanced at each other skeptically. "You're both very guarded but in different ways. Regina, you tend to hold the people around you at arms-length and use a bit of a sharp tongue to keep people out. I've known you since we were both at Boston Ballet and I remember you very differently from 10 years ago. I want to see that young hopeful sparkle come back. I saw a bit of it when we did Sleeping Beauty last spring but I think Giselle is a more nuanced character. Emma, you use humor and your charming nature to keep others from seeing your inner pain. I've been watching you in class and see the way you somehow manage to appear almost cocky while at the same time I can see you feeling insecure in your position here. You're a strong anchor for your friends and you'll need to harness that energy here to be an anchor for your Giselle."

Startled by the unexpected psychoanalysis, the two dancers stood still like deer in the headlights. Mulan had always been astute but this was a new level for her. After further pondering, Emma supposed it wasn't entirely shocking considering how big of a deal this ballet was about to be.

"As you may have heard me say at the top of the gala performance," Mulan went on. "I want to tell a story that is never told in classical ballet. Classical ballet is such a beautiful treasure, but it has always been so rigidly heteronormative and I want to break down barriers so that it can be representative of everyone. I knew I was gay from a young age, but I never got to see my story told on stage. That is part of why it took me until my early twenties to come out. I didn't realize it was okay for a ballerina to be gay. I had plenty of gay male colleagues that I adored, but there was no one like me to look up to. I hope you'll enjoy this journey with me and allow me to tell this story to the world."

Touched, Emma and Regina both smiled back at Mulan. "I'm really grateful for this opportunity," Regina said warmly. "I think this is a story that's long overdue."

"Ditto," said Emma quietly, fidgeting with her hands. Mulan gave her a look that made Emma wonder just how deep her intuition ran.

"Thank you both. Now, that's enough talk. Let's dance!" Mulan motioned for both of them to move toward the middle of the room. "Now, I've spent _a lot_ of time thinking about how this is all going to work, but I fully expect to hit a couple of snags along the way, so please be patient with me and each other."

Mulan began teaching them each their individual parts for the opening of Act I. The first thirty seconds or so were fine until Alberta and Giselle run into each other – literally – for the first time.

"Emma, as Regina walks backwards here, you'll sort of step in behind her," Mulan indicated, showing Emma just what she meant. "Then, Regina, you sense her presence behind you and quickly turn around to rest your hands on her chest. Emma, you bring your hands up to rest on Regina's upper arm."

"Uhhh…" Emma began, seeing _exactly_ what snag they were about to hit.

Before Emma could articulate her concern, Mulan hit play on the music. "Let's try that from the top of the scene."

Emma and Regina took their starting positions and waited for their musical cue to begin. Regina stood unfazed behind the imaginary door to her house – a set piece they would have to practice without until production week –, hands resting on her hips and weight shifted onto her left leg. Her head bobbed along subtly to the music as her entrance approached. She emerged from her imaginary house and began her sequence of skip-like jumps around the studio. Right on cue, Emma revealed herself from her hiding place behind an imaginary tree and stepped in behind Regina. Regina turned around as instructed and brought her hands up to Emma's chest, realizing too late that she was essentially groping her breasts. Emma's breath hitched and Regina felt soft globes press into the palms of her hands, with the hint of a hardened nipple straining through the thin fabric of Emma's leotard. Emma's warm hands tensed on Regina's upper arms. Startled, Regina looked up only to find that their faces were barely two inches apart.

Regina's face quickly turned beet red and she yanked her hands away from Emma as though she had been burned. Folding her arms across her chest, eyes nearly bulging from her sockets in embarrassment, she stared horrified at a spot on the floor several feet in front of her, unable to make eye contact with either Emma or Mulan. Emma stood frozen on the spot, unsure what she could possibly do to ease awkward tension radiating off of Regina in waves.

It was Mulan who broke the moment with a loud guffawing laugh. Emma and Regina looked up at her, startled. "I guess we can consider that our first snag," said Mulan between laughter with a wave of her hand. "I've danced Giselle a number of times, and I guess I overlooked the fact that there would be breasts in the way of that moment." Emma and Regina still stood tense in their positions. "Oh, come on you guys. No need to be embarrassed. It happened, it will probably happen again, we all know it wasn't on purpose so it doesn't have to be a big deal."

"Emma," Mulan continued. "How about you catch Regina's hands there instead so we don't have any accidental groping. As for the proximity of the position, you're both just going to have to get used to that. You're supposed to be falling in love, so a certain level of intimacy is required here. Try the sequence again."

Both dancers shook themselves off and retook their starting positions. This time, when Regina turned around, Emma grabbed her hands, gently holding them between their bodies. Regina still looked up at her with startled, but surprisingly open eyes, mouth slightly parted. Emma's gaze darted down to her mouth and up again before Mulan interjected.

"So much better, dancers," praised Mulan. "Let's get on with the rest of the scene."

By the end of their two-hour rehearsal, both dancers were soaked in sweat and Emma's arms shook. She was plenty strong, but wasn't used to lifting another human in such a fashion. Luckily, there weren't an abundance of lifts in Giselle – all the overhead ones modified – but it was still clear that Emma was going to need to improve her strength.

"Great work, dancers," said Mulan enthusiastically. "Regina, thank you for being patient with Emma as she figured out how to partner another woman. Emma, thank you for being patient with yourself and being willing to follow instruction so readily from both Regina and I. This only works if we all work together and I think this rehearsal is a good indication that we are going to work together well. I'll see you both separately later for some one-on-one work but take a break and rest! Oh, and Emma, you will be wearing a dress in this ballet so feel free to bring a rehearsal skirt to the next rehearsal."

Regina and Emma both nodded in acknowledgement. "Sounds good," answered Emma, still slightly out of breath. Mulan exited the room to run upstairs to her next rehearsal.

"That wasn't so bad, was it?" Emma offered after a few seconds of uncomfortable silence. "Clearly I need to work on my partnering skills but I've already got plans with the guys to get going on that."

Emma could see the veil of coldness Regina shrouded herself with return to its place. "You did well today," she stated matter-of-factly. "I think you know what you need to work on. Don't lose focus." And with that, she turned away and went to collect her bag.

Emma rolled her eyes at her turned back, disappointed but not surprised at the return of Regina's cold demeanor. She moved to collect her bag and made her way upstairs for her next rehearsal that started in an hour.

She spent her break seated on one of the chairs by the floor to ceiling windows in the lobby on the main floor. She ate her lunch and enjoyed the quiet before heading into her second rehearsal for the day.

At 1:45 she headed into studio 102 for her one-on-one rehearsal with Mulan. For the next hour, she began learning her Act II variation. Mulan had chosen to leave most of the jumps in, however taking out some of the extra beats in the _cabrioles_ and other larger jumps. She changed the double _tours en l'air_ to double pirouettes from fifth position as well. Emma had always been a strong jumper so she was excited to get to show off that ability.

After rehearsal she had a costume fitting to get measured for her Act I and Act II outfits. Eugenia spent a solid fifteen minutes taking just about every measurement of Emma's body she could think of. Since the intention to reuse the costumes in the future was unclear, she wanted to make sure they fit Emma like a glove.

As Eugenia finished up, David walked into the costume shop, trailed by Mary-Margaret. "Hey kiddo, we'll meet you upstairs in 219 when you're ready."

"Would you quit calling me kiddo?" Emma laughed. "I'm only 5 years younger than you."

"Old habits die hard," David said with a wink.

"I'm actually finished with your measurements, Emma, if you want to head out," said Eugenia kindly.

"Perfect, thank you!" Emma replied enthusiastically. "Be right there, guys." She pulled her ANB jacket back on and grabbed her bag to follow her friends up to 219.

"I figure we start with some partnering basics for today and then hit the gym after," said David. "How does that sound?"

"Sounds good to me," Emma agreed. The trio walked down the second floor corridor to reach the studio.

"You can practice with me, Emma," said Mary-Margaret kindly. "Since me and Regina are close in height David asked if I'd be willing to help."

"Thank you, that's really generous of you," Emma replied gratefully, not doubting Mary-Margaret's generosity but knowing full well she probably just wanted to spend more time with David. Everyone knew she had had a crush on him for the better part of a year. It had been a bit weird at first since they were all part of the same friend group but Mary-Margaret had learned to tone it down when other people were around. David somehow remained clueless to the entire situation.

"Okay," David started as they entered the studio and set their bags down by the door. "Let's start with finding center of balance. Mary-Margaret, why don't you stand on your left leg with your right foot in _sur le coup de pied devant_. Emma, you'll hold her just below the waist at the top of her hips and try moving her around on her leg to see where she balances."

Mary-Margaret took her position and Emma stepped in behind her. She tested the boundaries of how far off her leg she could push Mary-Margaret before she felt like she might lose control.

"That's good," said David. "Now switch legs so she can feel the difference between sides."

She changed legs and they repeated the exercise until Emma was able to more quickly pull her back to center and find her balance. They moved through various generic balancing exercises, with Mary-Margaret taking different positions until Emma finally felt like she was getting the hang of it.

"That's great, Emma," David praised. "It'll take some time before you really feel confident but you've got a great intuition and it helps that you know what it feels like to be partnered. We'll do a little bit of lifting basics, I don't want to tire you out too much, and then we'll hit the gym." Emma nodded in agreement.

David proceeded to show her where to place her hands for different types of lifts. "It's good you're a strong jumper," he commented. "You need strong legs to make a lift work, not just strong arms." They worked for about fifteen more minutes before packing up, changing, and heading to the gym.

Mary-Margaret went up to the cardio deck while Emma and David met up with a few of the other men from the company near the free weights.

"Hey Emma!" Exclaimed Shang as she walked up, greeting her with a bro hug. "I didn't get the chance to congratulate you on the role yet but way to go! We're all super excited for you and totally here to help." Phillip and Neal nodded in agreement.

"Thanks guys," Emma replied. "It really means a lot to me."

"You're welcome, kiddo," said David enthusiastically, giving her a pat on the back.

"Yeah yeah," said Emma, playfully rolling her eyes at the nickname. "Now where do we start?"

. . . .

"Regina, look," Katherine said, pointing through the window. The two women were soaking in the hot tub at the gym to ease their tired muscles.

Regina looked through the glass to see a one Emma Swan learning how to power clean with several of the men from the company. Regina's eyebrows rose in surprise and she felt something churning deep in her core that she didn't dare contemplate too closely.

"Careful there Regina," warned Katherine with a smirk. "Open your mouth any wider and you'll start catching flies."

Regina quickly shut her mouth and fixed her friend with a glare. She splashed her friend, careful not to hit her in the face with the hot water.

"Hey!" Katherina laughed, splashing her friend back, earning an eyebrow raise from Regina. "Look, she's really trying though. You need to cut her some slack. You've been very tight lipped about rehearsal today, how did it go? Mulan seemed in good spirits when she came up to set Wilis after working with you two."

"It was fine," Regina said vaguely, bringing her foot up to the edge of the tub to inspect a bruised toenail.

"Well that's a sure sign than it was something other than fine," retorted Katherine. "Spill. And don't pretend like there's nothing to tell, I know when you're not telling me the whole story."

Regina rolled her eyes. "It's just different," she started. "I mean, I expected it to be different, but it's different. Not bad different, just different."

"You're really tripping over your words there hun, she really got you that shook up?"

Regina shot her a look that said _don't go there_.

Katherine went there. "You're blushiiinng."

"Katherine, I am not in the mood. Rehearsal was fine, we're going to be fine, that's all there is to tell." Regina snapped.

"Oh, come on!" Katherine exclaimed. "In all the time I've known you I have never seem you blush and ramble about _anyone_. I just want to see you happy!"

Regina's eyes widened at the implication. "First of all, I'm not even interested in women, let alone _Emma Swan_. Second of all, you've never seen me blush and ramble because that just simply isn't me. I don't need some trivial romance; I have my career," she finished hostilely.

"Says the woman who cried at my wedding," Katherine scoffed. "Don't even pretend like you're not a complete sap. If you don't want to talk about Emma fine, we don't have to talk about Emma. What did you eat for breakfast today?" She finished snarkily.

"I made savory oatmeal with sautéed mushrooms and a poached egg," Regina replied tersely. Katherine was her only close friend but when she wasn't ready to talk, she wasn't ready to talk.

"Okay, fine. I'm sorry. I realize I pushed to hard," Katherine apologized, seeing Regina's physical distress. "I won't push again but I'm here if you want to talk about it. That's what friends are for."

Regina sighed, letting her foot fall back into the tub and looking her friend in the eye. "No, I'm sorry, Kat. I shouldn't have snapped at you. I'm just stressed about the role and having to teach Emma how to partner. I know she's trying but she still has a long way to go."

"It's okay," replied Katherine patiently. "Just know you can talk to me. About anything. Really."

"Thanks, Kat," Regina said with a soft smile. The two enjoyed the hot tub for a few more minutes, chatting about Wilis rehearsal that afternoon. Katherine didn't bring up Emma again, but she didn't miss how her friend's eyes kept darting to the side to sneak glances of her through the glass.

* * *

**Notes: **Blue is based loosely on a professor I had briefly in college. I'm sure it isn't hard to guess my opinion of said professor.

I'm realizing Mulan is going to be a little bit OOC in this fic. I'm drawing a lot on my own experiences with choreographers here.

Let me know your thoughts on chapter three!


	4. Building a Ballet

**Notes:** Thank you so much for all your wonderful comments on chapter three! So happy to hear you're all enjoying this journey.

Enjoy chapter four!

* * *

Regina awoke on Thursday morning to the annoying buzzer of her alarm. She hit snooze and stared up at the ceiling. The day before had certainly been interesting. Despite a few snags, the rehearsal had gone very well. She thought back to seeing Emma with the guys at the gym. She really was trying. Regina was impressed with her work ethic and hoped it would continue through the rest of the rehearsal period.

Despite a voice in the back of her head telling her not to, she had found herself almost enjoying dancing with Emma. Before she could dwell on it too long, she shook off the feeing and peeled back the sheets. Regina went about her morning routine, gathering her thoughts for the upcoming rehearsal-filled day. She had another rehearsal with Emma today; Mulan would be setting the iconic Act II pas de deux. She was excited to see how Mulan would alter the choreography to suit her and Emma.

She reviewed the choreography from the day before during her commute to the studio, marking through the steps with her hands on the Metro, not caring about the strange looks she received. She listened to the music from the ballet to pick out the little nuances she could incorporate into her dancing.

Upon arriving to the studio, she was surprised to find Emma already in the studio warming up. She had placed her things in the corner today instead of the center of the barre along the mirror where she had stood next to Regina the day before. Frowning slightly, Regina made her way over to the corner and set her bag down next to Emma. Emma looked up, puzzled.

"Loathe as I am to admit it, we should be standing together," Regina said in answer to Emma's unspoken question. Emma simply stared back at her, shocked that Regina would semi-willingly spend more time in her proximity than strictly necessary. After a few seconds Regina cocked a perfectly sculpted eyebrow and Emma looked away, a slight flush coloring her cheeks. Regina snorted softly and began rifling through her bag in search of her Arnicare cream.

Slowly, the studio began to fill with the other company dancers. Ruby and Belle walked in together which earned a knowing smirk from Emma. The two brunettes seemed to be getting along more than fine.

Regina remained mostly silent for the entirety of her warm up aside from a wince here and there when she hit a sensitive spot with her foam roller. Her laser-like focus was legendary - the building could be on fire and it probably wouldn't distract her. However, she would be lying to herself if she denied sneaking a glance at Emma out of the corner of her eye when she started doing push-ups.

Regina had been surprised the day before when Emma was able to pick her up and hold her steady. Her arms were certainly toned but she was even stronger than Regina had expected. Not that she had spent time previously considering the arm strength of a one Emma Swan.

Class that day passed miserably. Gold gave a grueling class with little sympathy for the dancers' sore muscles.

"Regina, that was a piss-poor excuse for an _entrelacé_, let's see that again," he demanded from his stool at the front of the room. "Start from the beginning, by yourself."

Regina sighed and took her position in the corner. Dan, their accompanist for the day, gave her a four-count intro and she began the combination again, flying from the corner in a series of large jumps from _sissones_ to _saut de chats_. She tried for more air on the _entrelacé_ this time in an attempt to placate Gold.

"Nay nay nay," he began disapprovingly, with a dismissive hand gesture. "I want to see you really kick your front leg higher. You look afraid, why are you holding back?"

"I-"

"Do it again, from the arabesque into the _entrelacé_. Show me why you deserve to be principal dancer."

Regina clenched her jaw and began again from the arabesque. This time, she kicked her front leg much higher. The next few moments seemed to happen in slow motion. She reached the peak of her jump, but her front leg was too high to flip over. As she descended, she managed to flip her hips so she faced the direction she came from, but she didn't get her leg back underneath her in time. She barely caught her toes on the floor but it wasn't enough to stop her momentum before she essentially belly-flopped on the floor. She caught herself on her arms before she could hit her head but the sudden force of impact knocked the air out of her lungs. She coughed violently as her diaphragm spasmed in an attempt to fill her lungs with air again.

Alarmed, Emma rushed to her side. "Are you okay?!" She asked while attempting to help Regina up.

"I'm _fine_," she coughed and snatched her forearm out of Emma's grip. She took a moment to regain her breath before climbing to her feet once again. Gold watched the entire exchange with a bored expression.

"Now that you've learned how far is too far, let's see you do it right."

That earned an eyebrow raise from the entire class, but none of them said anything – they knew better than to challenge Gold. Regina set her jaw and shook out her limbs a bit before beginning again. The room seemed to hold its breath as she kicked her front leg up high again into the _entrelacé_. This time, she managed to flip her hips at the top and landed the jump in a solid arabesque.

"So much better Regina," Gold praised. "You all could take a page out of her book. None of you have enough grit. When I danced with City Ballet, Mr. B would make us do things over and over until we got it right. There was no sympathy from him and you'll get no sympathy from me. If you want to be the best, you have to push. You always have to do more. Have you seen the movie Schindler's list? You know at the end when he says "I could have done more?" That's how I always felt when I was dancing, like I could have done more."

"Did he seriously just compare the stakes of his job to the stakes of the Holocaust?" Ruby whispered to Elsa in the back of the studio.

"What was that, Ruby?" Gold snapped at her. "Do you have something you'd like to share with the group?"

Ruby turned sheet white and replied, "No, sir."

Gold simply cocked a disapproving eyebrow and moved on with the next combination.

By the end of class, the company was visibly distressed. Regina's jaw was clenched so hard it was a wonder she didn't crack a tooth. They hadn't had a class that rough in some time. Gold's moods were notoriously volatile. One minute everything was fine and the next, everything was on fire.

Regina practically stormed from the room as soon as class was over. She hadn't been humiliated like that in a long time. Gold went through phases with her. Each phase could last anywhere between one to six months but they were clear cut. One month, he did nothing but shower her in praises, while the next, he did nothing but tear her to pieces. She was stressed enough with Giselle coming up. Not only was it a new role, but she had to train a new partner as well. Her mother was already breathing down her neck, she didn't need Gold's tirades added to the mix.

She munched on a small handful of almonds while she stalked down the stairs to studio 20 in the basement. Her feet were already killing her. Gold's excessive_ relevés_ had wrought havoc on her toes. They were calloused to the point where blisters were rare but they still burned from the repeated friction caused by rolling up and down from pointe. When she reached studio 20, she unceremoniously dropped her bag on the floor and laid down perpendicular to the wall with her feet up in the air, resting on the barre, in an attempt to get the swelling under control. She still had almost 5 hours of rehearsal left and after Gold's class this morning, her body was not in good shape to handle that. She let her eyes slip shut and she dropped another almond into her mouth.

"Hey," Emma said tentatively upon entering the room. Regina opened one eye to acknowledge Emma before closing it again and trying to shut out the burning sensation in her feet. "Are you okay?"

"My feet feel like they've been set on fire, but otherwise I'm fantastic," Regina replied caustically.

"I meant from earlier," Emma clarified.

"We don't need to talk about it, Miss Swan," Regina said curtly still without deigning to open her eyes.

"Drop it with the 'Miss Swan' crap will you, your highness?" Emma retorted, annoyed. "I'm not asking you to spill your deep dark secrets here, but we're partners so I get to care about you, okay?"

Regina opened her eyes at this, peering up at Emma with a look crossed between irritation and confusion. "Get to?"

"Get to, have to, whatever," replied Emma with an eyeroll. "My point is that how you're doing is going to affect this rehearsal, and I'd like to know that ahead of time without having to guess."

Regina scoffed and sat up, but didn't respond. Emma sighed in frustration, realizing things with Regina would never be easy.

"Hello ladies," Mulan greeted pleasantly as she walked into the studio with Dan trailing behind her. "How are we doing today?"

"Fine," the pair said simultaneously.

Mulan narrowed her eyes slightly, "okay…"

Regina quickly schooled her features and got up off the floor. Taking a deep breath, she pushed thoughts of that morning's class out of her mind. Ignoring her burning toes, she pulled her rehearsal skirt out of her bag and put it on. Today, she had opted for a charcoal grey, three quarter sleeved leotard with black stirrup tights and a black knee-length chiffon skirt. Her ensemble actually complimented Emma's quite nicely. The blonde had elected a white halter leotard with pink tights cut off above the knee and a silvery grey wrap skirt.

"Today we're going to be working on your Act II pas de deux," Mulan began. "This pas is very tender and filled with longing. Myrtha has just ordered Albrecht to dance to his death and Giselle comes in to beg for his release. When she is refused, she dances with him in solidarity." Emma and Regina nodded along.

"Regina, we went over your adagio intro section yesterday when I set your variation so we'll start from where Emma joins you." Mulan began to teach them the opening sequence of the pas de deux. It was a lot of long promenades with one of Regina's legs up high in the air in one direction or another.

Regina noticed immediately that Emma's sense for Regina's balance had improved significantly from the day before. She had been almost hesitant to touch her during the first rehearsal but today her strong hands held her steady by her hips as she slowly walked her around in a _penché_ promenade, her body bent forward over her supporting leg while her back leg pointed directly at the ceiling, creating a perfect 180-degree line.

"That's great you guys," encouraged Mulan as they work through the promenade sequence. "Now is the part we'll have to adjust. Emma, how high can you lift Regina?"

"Dead lift, probably to my chest. If she jumps, probably to my head," Emma replied. "Although today maybe not that high. I went to the gym with the guys last night and my arms feel like lead today."

"Good for you! I'm glad you're taking initiative with that," praised Mulan. "Don't push yourself too hard though, I really can't have you getting injured. Neither of you have understudies as I'm setting this ballet for the two of you. We only have one cast."

"Don't worry, I'm careful," said Emma reassuringly.

"Good. Now let's see what we can do here. Regina, you're going to do a glissade here up into a sort of _grand jeté_ with your back leg bent. Emma, you'll lift her just a little on the glissade, and then as high as you can on the _jeté_ – without hurting yourself," Mulan instructed.

The two took their positions, Regina standing in front of Emma in an arabesque. Emma grasped her hips firmly and supported her through the glissade to create the desired floating effect. Regina pushed off strongly into the _jeté_ and was surprised to feel the strength of Emma's arms lifting her almost over her head. Emma set her down gently _en pointe_ and she stretched out into a long arabesque before repeating the sequence to the other side.

"Well done Emma!" exclaimed Mulan. "We might just get that overhead after all by the time we get to the performance."

The rehearsal continued with success. Once they had learned the entire pas, Mulan had them run it once. Regina found herself getting lost in the feeling of Emma's strong arms wrapped around her. Her gentle yet firm touch unwavering and making Regina's heart flutter in an unexpected way. She didn't snap out of it until the end of the pas, where she was meant to finish in an arabesque, leaning against a kneeling Emma. The strain put on Emma's muscles caught up to her and her legs gave out underneath her. She remembered the number one rule of partnering (never let the girl hit the ground) just quick enough to roll over onto her back and attempt to catch Regina as she toppled over onto her.

Even with Emma's quick reflexes however, Regina landed hard on top of Emma. They lay frozen for a moment, their fronts pressed flush together and their faces barely a whisper apart.

Regina was jolted out of her daze when Mulan inquired, "are you guys okay?"

She quickly rolled off her partner and sat up, brushing herself off. "Yes, I'm fine. Emma are you alright?"

"All good," Emma replied shakily from the floor with a weak thumbs up gesture.

"Good. I think we'll leave that there for today. I don't need the two of you injuring yourselves. You've now got an extra fifteen minutes to do with what you please. I'll see you upstairs in 45 for more of Act II."

"Thank you," chimed Regina and Emma in unison from the floor. Mulan took her leave, and Regina collapsed back down onto the floor next to Emma and stared at the ceiling while she waited for her heavy breathing to return to normal. The pair laid in silence for a couple of minutes.

"You good?" asked Emma, turning her head to the side to look at Regina.

"I'm fine, Emma," Regina replied in a tired tone, her eyes still fixed on the ceiling. "If I'm not crying, gushing blood, or vomiting, I'm fine."

"'Kay." Emma stated sharply. "I'm going upstairs to eat my lunch. You can join me if you want to, or I'll see you in rehearsal at 1:30." With that, she walked across the room, picked up her back from the floor and marched out the door. Regina sighed to herself. She didn't understand why Emma kept prodding her. She didn't share her feelings with just anyone. Katherine was really the only living person she would share with, and even then, she had her limits. She knew Emma likely meant well, but she had a hard time trusting people.

Regina took a deep breath and pushed herself up off the floor. She went about pulling her warm-ups back on over her leotard to avoid getting cold on her 45-minute break. She grabbed her bag from the corner and slowly walked upstairs to the lobby.

Before she could think about what she was doing she found herself sitting across from Emma at a picnic table in the lobby. "Do you mind if I join you?" She asked sulkily, already pulling her lunch out of her bag.

"Be my guest," Emma acquiesced without looking up.

Regina stiffened at the harsh tone but didn't get up. Instead, she opened her Tupperware container of roasted veggies and started to eat. The pair sat in a not-quite-awkward, not-quite-comfortable silence as they finished their respective lunches. Despite being annoyed with Emma, Regina knew in order to have a successful partnership, they would have to get along. She didn't apologize on principle but she was unsure how to gain Emma's trust - especially when she was so unwilling to give her own.

"I'm not going to apologize for who I am as a person but I need you to trust me that if I'm not fine, I will let you know," Regina started firmly. Emma looked up in surprise at her words. "You and I both know how brutal this profession is. Any sign of weakness and we can be kicked to the curb. Women in ballet are as replaceable as flower arrangements. People admire us while we're still beautiful and in our prime but as soon as we show signs of wilting, they will replace us with a newer and fresher bouquet. I am 28 years old. In two years, I'll be considered old for a dancer. I will not compromise my position here any time I'm not quite feeling 100%. Do you understand?"

Emma contemplated here for a moment before responding. "Pretending to be fine will only work for so long. The longer you hold it in the worse it'll all be when you finally let it out. I learned that the hard way. My bad if I don't want to see someone else go through it, even if we're not friends."

Regina opened her mouth to reply but realized she was at a loss for words. She was unexpectedly hurt at the implication that they weren't friends. Sure, she found the blonde annoying most of the time - or at least that's what she told herself - and she didn't think they were _friends_, but she didn't think they were _not_ friends. Before she could respond, Emma got up and cleared her things. Regina watched in silence as she walked over to studio 101 and slipped through the door.

Rehearsal that afternoon was okay. Both Emma and Regina maintained a façade of professionalism while staying very distant with each other. They pushed through the majority of Act II that day. Luckily, Giselle wasn't a particularly long ballet. Mulan estimated she would have the whole thing set by the end of the next week. At that point, the other artistic staff would step in to start coaching rehearsals to make sure every section had enough rehearsal time to be ready for the stage.

Regina and Emma were scheduled to have their first rehearsal with Gold to work their Act II pas de deux the upcoming Monday afternoon. Regina was dreading it, knowing Gold was entering another anti-Regina phase with her. At times, she considered leaving the company for a director that wouldn't treat her like shit, but she didn't want to give him the satisfaction of knowing he got to her. He had been her teacher when she was a student at The Boston Ballet School before he accepted the Artistic Director position at ANB. He had always been hard on her but she knew she owed him half her technique.

Later that evening when she went to the gym to cross train with Katherine, she saw Emma working with the guys in the empty yoga studio. This time Mary-Margaret was with them. She recognized their Act II choreography right away as Emma lifted Mary-Margaret up in a jump. She felt an unexpected stab of jealousy that she was too slow to mask on her face.

"What was that look for?" Katherine inquired. She followed Regina's line of sight to the studio where she saw Emma practicing lifts with Mary-Margaret and the boys. "Oh, come on Regina. You've got to give that poor girl a break! She is busting her ass trying to live up to you!"

"Does she have to practice with Mary-Margaret?" Regina asked with her eyes narrowed.

"I know you two have a complicated history, but does it really matter?" Katherine implored.

"Yes!" Regina exclaimed. "She's probably poisoning her against me, that entitled brat!"

"Jesus H. Christ Regina! I think you're doing that all on your own," Katherine retorted, her frustration with her friend growing. This earned a harsh glare from Regina.

"I-"

"As your best friend," Katherine continued, cutting Regina off. "I am entitled to give you tough love when the situation calls for it. And this situation definitely calls for it. Emma is trying her hardest and you've been nothing but rude to her. At your best, you are an incredible dancer, an awesome coach, and a wonderful friend! Let her see that! I'm not saying you have to buddy-up with her but show her some compassion. We both know you won't pull of Giselle if you don't."

"I'll consider it," she said flatly before putting her earbuds in and blasting Rihanna.

Katherine rolled her eyes and plugged in her own earbuds. She could tell Regina needed time to process. She just hoped she didn't take too long.

* * *

**Notes:** Gold is heavily based on a professor I had in college. He deadass made that same Schindler's List analogy. He was the WOAT. Also "Mr. B" is George Balanchine, he founded the School of American Ballet and New York City Ballet.

I realize I'm not painting ballet in a very good light here with these two terrible teachers. There are great ones out there and they will show up in later chapters I promise! This story is low-key a giant subtweet at Peter Martins (former ballet master in chief at NYCB).


	5. An Olive Branch

**Note:** I would recommend reviewing the cast list because some of these rehearsals might not make sense if you don't know who's who in the ballet. Just a heads up :)

* * *

The weekend flew by and before Emma knew it is was Monday morning. Friday's rehearsals had been tense. Regina had barely said more than 3 words to her. Emma had opted not to push, which somehow only seemed to make matters worse. Despite growing tired of Regina's incessant mood swings, she couldn't stop herself from trying to help.

Emma's arms were finally starting to feel less sore from the week before of intense training with the guys. She knew she would need to keep up the pace to be able to lift Regina to an acceptable height by the time the performances rolled around. No one expected her to be able to get an over-the-head lift but she still made it her ultimate goal.

When Emma and Ruby rolled into the studio at 8:05am Regina was already at her barre spot warming up. "Talk to you later," Emma muttered to Ruby as she trudged over to her "assigned spot" next to Regina. Regina seemed less put-off this morning than the Friday before but she didn't acknowledge Emma when she sat down on the floor and dug around in her bag for her foam roller.

When Gold limped into the room with his cane and a sour expression nearly an hour later Emma knew it was going to be a rough class. He was hard on everyone, but he really seemed to be on Regina's case lately which Emma knew didn't bode well for their afternoon rehearsal.

"Regina!" he shouted from across the room. "You're getting sloppy. Did you think getting cast as Giselle meant you didn't have work to do?" Other than Regina's clenched jaw, her face remained impassive. After years of enduring his demeaning rhetorical questions, she found it best to not engage. "I'd rather see you waterboard yourself than do _tendus_ like that. That goes for all of you!"

The class collectively braced themselves for his imminent tirade. "When I danced for City Ballet, Mr. B would have never stood for such poor work ethic. If you made a mistake there was someone ready to take your place in a heartbeat." He glared sourly around the room. "If you're missing this much detail in class, what else are you missing in your life?"

Emma caught Ruby rolling her eyes across the room and was glad at least someone was able to let his comments roll off their back instead of seeping into their skin like the poison they were.

"Belle," he called out. "Let's see you demonstrate the combination. You were the only one who did it how I wanted."

Belle froze and looked around the room, shocked by the call-out. Gold gestured for the accompanist to begin and Belle took her cue. She began the combination but only made it two 8-counts before making a mistake on the sequence. She laughed nervously and tried to keep going but Gold cut off the pianist.

"That's enough, dearie," he said passively. "Now, do you know why I'm not mad at you for messing up the combination?" he asked facetiously. Belle shook her head in the negative. "It's not because you're pretty. I was just captivated watching you. The way you slid your foot against the floor it was like you were telling me a story." Belle swallowed uncomfortably at his remark.

"Regina, this is what I wanted from you. You'll never create a loveable Giselle with the way you're flopping around today," he said sharply. "You look a bumbling mess. Get it together."

Regina pressed her mouth into a thin line and gave a barely perceptible nod of her head in acknowledgement.

The rest of class continued in a similar manner, with Gold tearing into Regina and then patronizing Belle. By the end, Emma seriously wondered how Gold was still alive given the number of daggers being thrown at him from Regina's eyes.

Gold stalked out of the room at the end of class, barely acknowledging the accompanist on his way out. The room released a collective breath and went about collecting bags to head out to their respective rehearsals. This morning they were due to set the famous Mad Scene that closed out Act I. The handful of main characters stayed in studio 101 and waited for Mulan to arrive.

"Good morning dancers," Mulan greeted cheerfully when she walked in the door a few minutes later. "Today we're setting the Mad Scene so buckle up."

Mulan had taught Regina most of the scene on Friday afternoon as she was really the only one who had any steps to perform. The rest of the cast in the scene mostly just reacted to her descent into madness.

"Okay so we'll start right from where the music comes in," Mulan began and the dancers took their places from where they had left off last rehearsal. "Emma and Fred, you'll be holding hands facing each other when Regina will come bursting through." Mulan went along setting the scene, showing the other dancers how to react when Giselle interacted with them.

"Let's run it from the top, and do notes, we've got about 20 minutes left," Mulan instructed. The dancers nodded and took their places.

Emma took Fred's hands and waited for the music. Right on cue, the dramatic strings wailed the first notes of the scene and Regina came crashing through their joined hands. Regina looked wildly between the two in confusion and betrayal. She mimed frantically to Fred, pointing with two fingers at her left hand and gesturing between her and Emma. Fred mimed back to her, raising his hand to signify promise before gesturing to his left hand and then his heart. Regina grappled behind herself, reaching for Emma. Her eyes were pleading as she searched Emma's face. As per the choreography, Emma pulled away and turned around, presenting her back to Regina.

Regina ran across the studio and collapsed dramatically in front of Pocahontas. The scene continued with Giselle's sequences of distorted steps motifed from earlier in the ballet. Emma looked on in concern as she watched Regina play out Giselle's descent into madness. She had seen the ballet live a few times, and the Mad Scene was always haunting, but being this close definitely added a layer that she hadn't expected or been ready for.

The scene ended with Giselle collapsing dead into Alberta's arms. Emma looked down in horror at the apparent lifeless body in her lap. She had never been an overly indulgent actress, but something about this scene was really getting to her. The music cut out and Regina opened her eyes. Their gazes locked for a few seconds and neither said anything. Regina's empty eyes bored into Emma's glassy ones until she seemingly snapped out of it and sat up abruptly, nearly head-butting Emma in the process.

"Where did you go just now?" Emma asked softly, her eyes searching Regina's.

"Nowhere," Regina answered blankly. "It's called acting."

Frowning, Emma decided to drop it for now. She had learned that pushing wouldn't do any good and they still had a few hours left of rehearsal to get through. She just couldn't shake the haunted look in Regina's eyes.

"Regina, that was great," praised Mulan. "I can tell you practiced over the weekend. There's a few things I think we can finesse but I'll get that in a one-on-one rehearsal with you later this week." Regina nodded, her face neutral.

Mulan gave her list of corrections and worked a few smaller sections within the scene before dismissing them for their lunch break.

Since the Wilis were still in rehearsal it was a smaller group out in the lobby for lunch today. "Hey Emma, do you want to come sit with us?" asked Mary-Margaret. She was seated at one of the larger tables with David, Phillip, Killian, and Pocahontas.

Emma glanced over at the windows to see Regina sitting at a table by herself. "Thanks, but I'm going to sit with Regina today. Gotta stay in-sync," she explained. She made her way over to Regina's table and sat down across from the brooding brunette.

Regina looked up, her eyes questioning, but didn't say anything. Emma held her gaze and took a big bite of her sandwich in response. Regina stared for a few more seconds before she resumed eating her lunch and the two sat in silence for the rest of their meal. Emma knew asking if Regina was okay wouldn't get a good reaction so she opted to silently show her support instead. She could tell something was off with the brunette today. She wasn't usually _warm_, but she usually said more than five words in a rehearsal.

The clock struck 1:15 and the duo rose from their seats by the window and made their way upstairs to studio 219. They re-warmed up separately in preparation for what was sure to be a brutal rehearsal with Gold. Today they would be working their Act II pas de deux – which needed a lot of work – while Mulan worked some scenes from Act I with the peasant corps.

At 1:30 sharp Mr. Gold limped into the studio and made his way to his stool in the front of the room. "Let's start from the top, shall we dearies? Regina I'd like to see your opening adagio as well," he instructed, gesturing with his hand for them to take their starting positions. Dan, the accompanist, began the opening notes of the pas de deux.

Regina began her sequence with a slow _développé a la seconde_. Her leg reached up so high it was nearly touching her ear. After she finished her adagio sequence, Emma moved in to begin the partnering section. After a few rehearsals, she was starting to feel much more comfortable partnering but she knew she still needed work. When it came time for the lifts, she pressed Regina up to just over her head and carried her a few feet before gently setting her back down _en pointe_. After having the weekend to recover, her muscles were feeling much better. This time, at the end of the pas, she held firm in her kneeling position as Regina leaned against her in an _arabesque_.

Gold hummed disapprovingly. "Well, personally I don't see the appeal but this ballet is the edgy new statement we need for media attention so I guess I can work with it."

Regina and Emma both exchanged annoyed expressions. Regina was pretty traditional in her approach to ballet but even she didn't appreciate Gold's attitude toward the groundbreaking production.

"Let's start from the beginning of the partnering section." Gold began to pick the pas apart, piece by piece.

"Emma, I think you could match Regina's line a bit better there in the _arabesque_," he critiqued. "Can you show me?"

"Yes," she confirmed, taking her place behind Regina's _arabesque_. She glanced in the mirror to see where her arm was hitting a weird angle with Regina's leg and adjusted to create to parallel lines.

"So much better, dearie," he praised before turning sharply to Regina. "Now Regina, do you mind pointing that foot up there? You're getting sloppy, clean it up."

They continued working the minutia of the pas until they reached the lifts. Emma pressed her up to just the top of her head again and set her down.

"Regina. You're going to have to start watching your weight," he started coldly. "You've really plumped up since the start of the season, Emma can hardly lift you!" Regina tensed and opened her mouth to speak before being cut off.

"Sir, I really don't think it's her fault," Emma argued. "She's about as thin as she can be to still be considered 'healthy.' I just need to work on my strength. I've started working with the guys and it's already helped a lot."

"Hush," he snapped back at her. "Don't make excuses for her. She's been a principal for eight years and she's getting complacent."

Emma moved in to stand closer to Regina, placing a hand on her lower back which she didn't seem to notice. Her stoic face gave almost nothing away, but Emma noticed her fingers subtly fidgeting at her sides and suspected he might be getting to her.

"You were always a plump child, Regina. I thought we had fixed that when you were 16. I would recommend getting a personal trainer to help tone up. You need to do whatever it takes to get to a reasonable weight. This production is a high risk and critics will descend on us like vultures if it's anything less than perfect. If Emma can't lift you over her head that's on you. Women aren't as naturally strong as men so you'll just have to help her out."

Emma's jaw almost hit the floor in shock of what Gold had dared to say. Regina's face remained impassive although her hands were now pulling firmly at the hem of her wrap skirt. Emma worried it would tear.

"That's all for today ladies," he said carelessly, rising from his stool. "I have a meeting with the board of directors I've got to run off to but keep working in here on your own, yes?" With nothing more than a dismissive wave of his hand, he turned on his heel and walked out of the room.

The silence sat around the pair for several seconds before Regina growled out "don't say a word," under her breath. She moved to collect her bag from the corner but Emma caught her by her forearm, her grip firm yet gentle, stopping her from going anywhere. Regina turned back to face her, her expression a mixture of annoyance and confusion. Slowly, Emma pulled her into a hug, slotting her snugly under her chin. Regina tensed at the sudden invasion of her space, but after a few seconds slowly relaxed into the hug. She hesitantly wrapped her arms around Emma's waist and buried her face in her neck. They stayed like that for a few moments, breathing together in unison and sinking into each other. Emma gently rubbed one hand up and down Regina's back and pressed her nose into Regina's hair. She smelled of sweat and coconut.

The sound of approaching footsteps in the hallway jolted them out of the moment. Regina inhaled sharply and stiffly pushed Emma away, turning back to collect her things.

"We don't have to talk about it, but I meant what I said," Emma stated simply. Regina turned to look at her, pausing halfway through zipping up her white puffer vest. "There's nothing you need to change." Regina pulled the zipper the rest of the way up and gave a subtle nod of her head before picking up her bag and walking out of the studio. Emma sighed deeply. Was that progress? With Regina she never really could tell.

. . . .

The rest of the week went significantly smoother than Emma expected. Something about their dynamic had shifted slightly after that Monday rehearsal. Regina still maintained a certain level of sharp wit, but the cutting remarks and cold shoulder had lessened drastically. More than once, Emma caught Regina looking at her with a thoughtful expression on her face during class or rehearsal. She wasn't sure what it meant, but she was grateful the hostility seemed to have subsided.

Their dancing had even started to feel much more natural. Regina hadn't made partnering _difficult_ before per se, but compared to a week ago she was responding much more to Emma's touch. Before, it was almost as if Regina was partnering Emma, instead of Emma partnering Regina.

They shared many intimate moments during rehearsal where their eyes would catch and Emma felt like hundreds of butterflies were attempting to escape her belly. She tried to tamp down on the feeling but it continued to escape through the cracks. It came out in small affectionate gestures she would add to the choreography, a hand brushing across Regina's cheek here, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear there. Each time, Regina would blush prettily and Mulan just ate it up.

"Emma, yes! This is just what the scene needs. No one will believe the romance without the little details like that," Mulan praised. Emma hadn't been adding them on purpose. They just sort of slipped out before she realized what she was doing.

"Sure looks like they're getting along fine to me," Ruby commented Friday afternoon. Her and Katherine stood outside studio 101 and peeked in through the observation window.

"I think they're more than getting along," Katherine replied with a wink. Ruby smirked in response. They watched for a few minutes as Emma and Regina danced together, sharing easy smiles that seemed to go beyond acting.

"I give them two weeks," stated Ruby.

"Only two weeks? Regina is way too reserved. I think it'll take at least a month, if not more," Katherine responded.

"I guess we'll just have to wait and see," Ruby said with a wink. They turned back to the rehearsal, wondering how long it would take their friends to figure it all out.

* * *

**Note:** If you want to watch the Mad Scene, I would recommend either Alina Cojocaru or Marianela Nuñez.


	6. Night on the Town

**Notes:** Our grant writer quit (I work in fundraising) and somehow my boss deemed me qualified of handing grant writing until we hire a new writer. So, I've been a bit burnt out lately. Hopefully this chapter turned out okay!

* * *

Another week was coming to a close and Emma was ready to unwind.

"Hey Emma, some of us are going to hit Can Can Wonderland tonight for mini golf and karaoke," Ruby started, plopping herself down next to Emma as she ate her lunch. "You in?"

"Sure, sounds like fun!" Emma replied. "What time are you thinking of heading over there?"

"Probably around 9:30."

"Works for me. Wanna take the Metro over together?" asked Emma.

"Yeah, come down to my apartment around 8 and we can head out." Ruby confirmed. "I've got to run to rehearsal now but I'll see you later okay?"

"Sounds good, later Rubes!"

Emma smiled. It had been a while since she had gone out with her friends. The last few weeks had been challenging and she needed to release some tension.

As the clock struck 2:00, Emma packed up her Tupperware and made her way over to studio 101 for the start of her afternoon rehearsals. They had already started running longer sections of the ballet to start building stamina but still had shorter rehearsals to focus of the details of smaller scenes. She entered the studio and sat on the floor next to Regina, who was massaging tiger balm into the underside of her arches.

"How's the rehearsal going?" Emma asked.

"It would be better if Captain Guyliner over there could get his act together," Regina replied flippantly.

Emma laughed loudly and quickly had to cover her mouth when the entire room looked over at her. "Sorry," she apologized with a sympathetic hand gesture. Regina smirked. "Captain Guyliner?" Emma prompted, raising her eyebrows.

"Killian, obviously," Regina replied seriously. "He wears more eyeliner than I did in the 7th grade."

Emma made a poor attempt to cover up her laughter, earning more side-eye from her colleagues who were trying to rehearse. "Exactly how much eyeliner did you wear in the 7th grade?" Emma asked in disbelief. She was surprised and delighted with this newfound humorous side to Regina. Although, she supposed it had always been there, but had been notably less funny when she had been on the receiving end of her jabs.

"Don't pretend you didn't go through the "racoon" phase in middle school Miss Swan," Regina retorted haughtily.

"Don't get me wrong, the "racoon eye" is a time-honored middle school tradition, but I didn't wear any makeup at all until my first ballet performance at age 15," Emma explained. Prompted by Regina's confused expression she continued. "I was a pretty big tomboy growing up. I did a lot of hip-hop until I was forced to take ballet in high school. I ended up really loving it and at the recommendation of my teacher enrolled at Manhattan Youth Ballet where I trained intensively until I was good enough to get into the JKO school."

"Ladies, can you keep it down over there?" called Mulan from across the studio. "I'm glad you're bonding but I'm trying to work with peasant corps over here."

Regina scowled at Emma for getting her in trouble and Emma chuckled. She shrugged apologetically at Mulan and replied, "sorry!"

"I need you two in just a minute anyway so get in position for the next scene please," Mulan instructed.

Emma pushed herself off the floor, and stretched tall. She offered her hand to Regina once she was finished putting her pointe shoes back on. Regina raised an eyebrow but took the proffered hand to hoist herself up. Her eyes trailed to Emma's biceps that were becoming more defined each week as she easily pulled her up. She shook herself off when she realized how close they were now standing and took a step back.

"Thanks," she muttered. She needed to get herself under control. Ever since that mad scene rehearsal her hormones had been running rampant. With each rehearsal she was becoming more and more aware of Emma's physique. She saw her at the gym with the men regularly. Her strength had already noticeably improved in the short few weeks since they had started learning the choreography. Regina was used to being tossed into the air and carried around by strong men but something about Emma's quiet strength made her heart flutter.

Each time she felt her mind wandering down that path she heard her mother's voice in her head. _Those gays are diseased, Regina. It's just not natural. Men and women were made for each other, that's just how it's supposed to be._ She pushed the thoughts aside and attempted to focus back in on the rehearsal. She had had plenty of experiences with men in the past that were perfectly adequate. She didn't need to be thinking about experimentation and the potential risks and public shame that could bring.

The music ramped up and she let Emma take her right hand and hers and felt Emma's left hand wrap around her waist and guide her to the center of the scene. They danced together side-by-side, jumping and turning and skipping to the music. The scene ended with Regina sitting on one of Emma's knees with her arms casually slung around her neck. Emma's smile lit up the studio when their eyes met and Regina held her breath. Emma's eyes briefly flicked down to her lips before the music resumed and the moment dissipated. The scene continued until the entrance of the court when Mulan cut the music.

"Great work dancers!" said Mulan enthusiastically. "I think that's enough for a Friday afternoon. Corps, you are dismissed. Regina and Emma, would you mind staying just a bit? I didn't love where we landed with the end of the 'she loves me, she loves me not,' duet last time."

The pair nodded in unison, catching their breath from running nearly the first whole half of Act I without pause. The other dancers trickled out while Mulan working on cueing the music for the correct scene.

"Okay," Mulan began, clapping her hands together in front of her. "I want to start with the 'she loves me, she loves me not' scene. At the end of the peasant dance this last time it looked like you were about to kiss." Emma's eyebrows skyrocketed and she opened her mouth to respond but Mulan kept talking. "I was so into it! I want you to keep that in, and I'm hoping we can add more moments like that throughout this earlier scene." Emma snapped her jaw shut with a click and slowly nodded in acquiescence. Regina did a better job of remaining impassive, but her eyes betrayed her nerves.

They took their places for the beginning of the scene and Mulan pressed play on the stereo system. They moved through the choreography together. Regina flitted nervously around the studio, and Emma confidently followed, employing her most charming smile. Regina mimed plucking a flower from the shrubbery in front of her house and moved to sit on the bench stage left. Emma sat down next to her and pressed in close, their thighs touching. Regina turned around, startled by her proximity and found them mere inches apart. This time, Regina's eyes flitted down to Emma's mouth before tearing them away back to the imaginary flower in her hand.

She pulled one petal off the imaginary flower and let it fall to the floor. _She loves me._ Another petal fell was pulled and left to fall next. _She loves me not._ She mimed counting the remaining petals until she was left with _she loves me not._ She stood abruptly from the bench and ran to centerstage. Emma soon followed with the flower, less one petal than she had original counted. _She loves me_. The two danced together again, linked arm in arm, in a sequence of joyous jumps across the stage.

"Yes! That is exactly what I wanted," Mulan praised when the scene ended. "Thank you for your work today ladies, I appreciate you staying a bit longer on a Friday so we could dig into this a bit more," said Mulan gratefully. "You're both doing great work, I think this is really going to be something special."

"Thanks," Emma and Regina said in unison.

"Do something fun this weekend, you both deserve it!" the duo nodded and smiled at Mulan as she turned and walked out of the room.

"Any fun plans for the weekend?" Emma asked Regina as she untied her pointe shoes.

"Brunch with Katherine and Fred on Sunday, but other than that a nice quiet weekend," Regina replied. "You?"

"Yeah, actually," Emma responded. "I'm going out to Can Can Wonderland tonight with Ruby and the gang for mini-golf and karaoke."

"Of course you are," Regina chuckled.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Emma asked.

"Oh nothing. It's just very characteristic of you," Regina said with a chuckle. "Sounds like fun."

Before Emma could think she found herself asking, "do you want to come with?"

"Please dear, I don't sing," Regina responded with a playful eyeroll. "I'm not going to make a fool out of myself in front of my colleagues."

"Come on, it'll be fun," Emma pushed. "Everyone will be drunk by the time karaoke starts anyway so chances are they won't even remember. But they _will_ remember the part where I kick your ass at mini-golf," Emma goaded gently. Regina was fiercely competitive and Emma was beginning to learn how to use that particular trait to her advantage.

Regina scoffed, "as if you could beat me at mini-golf." The challenge was all she needed to be sucked in, just as Emma expected.

"Yeah right," Emma baited. "I'd like to see you try and beat me."

Regina raised one perfectly sculpted eyebrow. "We'll see about that."

"So, you'll come?" Emma asked, cautiously optimistic.

Regina hesitated. The logical side of her brain was telling her to go home, eat a healthy dinner, and go to bed. But she was surprised at how much she had been enjoying Emma's company the last two weeks. She had learned when not to push, and her lame jokes weren't quite as annoying as she previously believed. "I guess…" she found herself saying.

"Great! Here, put your number in my phone so we can find each other when we get there," Emma said, pulling her phone out of her bag and offering it up to Regina.

Regina raised an eyebrow but took the phone. She quickly created a contact for herself and punched in her phone number, before offering her own cell to Emma to enter her contact information.

"Great, so I'll see you at 9:30?" Emma asked with tempered excitement.

"You will," Regina confirmed with a nod.

"Awesome! Well, I'll see you later then." Emma waved goodbye and stepped out the door to head to the Metro.

She was halfway to the station when she realized she had left her wallet and apartment keys on the bench in the dressing room.

She turned around and power walked back to the studio. When she opened the door to the locker room she was surprised to be greeted with a rich, low singing voice coming from the shower area.

"_Must be love on the brain_

_That's got me feeling this way _

_It beats me black and blue but it fucks me so good_

_And I can't get enough"_

Emma recognized Regina's immaculate ivory dance bag on the bench immediately and her mouth fell wide open. NO WAY. _I don't sing_, she had said. No way was Emma going to let her live this down later. With a voice like that, she was surprised Regina had never auditioned for Broadway.

Emma sighed. Regina's caramel voice reverberated off the shower tiles and filled the entire dressing room. She felt a heat begin to build low in her belly that she quickly tried to suppress. Things were finally improving between her and Regina, now was not the time to develop a crush – especially a crush on a straight woman. The last time that had happened to her ended in disaster.

Snapping back out of her stroll down memory lane, Emma rolled her eyes in amusement and snatching her wallet off the bench. As she exited the dressing room, she tried to clear her head. So she can sing? She thought. _A lot of people can sing._ She barely made it to the station before her thoughts meandered back to the dressing room. All she could think about on her way home was the sound of Regina's voice belting out Rihanna's _Love on the Brain_.

. . . .

"You expecting a call, Em?" Ruby asked when they arrived at Can Can Wonderland. "You've been checking your phone nonstop since we boarded the metro."

"Oh, umm..." Emma hesitated. "Yeah, actually. I invited Regina so I'm waiting for her to call me when she gets here."

Ruby's eyes opened comically wide. "You WHAT?" She nearly shouted. "And she agreed?!"

"Yeah..." Emma replied hesitantly.

"She really does have the hots for you," Ruby mumbled under her breath.

"What?"

"I said I guess she doesn't totally hate you anymore," Ruby stated, examining her fingernails and refusing to make eye contact.

"Mmhmm. Sure that's what you said," Emma replied with an eye roll. "Anyway, she's going to call me when she gets here so we can find her."

Just as she finished her sentence her phone began buzzing and Regina's phone number flashed across her screen.

"Regina?"

"I'm here. How do I find you?"

"Follow the hallway all the way to the back of the building and then go down the stairs."

"You didn't tell me this place was in a basement?"

"I promise it's cool, I'll meet you at the foot of the stairs."

"Okay..."

Thirty seconds later Emma found herself face to face with Regina at the bottom of the stairs. Emma was nearly stunned into silence by the amount of leg on display. Sure, she saw Regina daily in much more revealing clothing – tights and a leotard really didn't leave much to the imagination – but something about the short, black and red flower-patterned romper was very enticing. The neckline dipped into a low V, showing quite a bit of skin and her chest-length dark hair fell around her in soft-styled curls. 4-inch platform wedges adorned her feet, making her legs look a mile long. With the boost, she was almost at eye-level with Emma. Regina fidgeted a little under Emma's gaze, knocking her out of her trance-like state.

"Uhh, hi, w-wow, you look really nice," Emma stammered, taking in the full display.

"Thank you," Regina replied nervously. She felt a little over-dressed next to Emma in her cut off jean shorts and sage green mock neck crop top. "Shall we go in?"

"Uhh, yeah. This way," Emma gestured for her to follow and led the way in towards the bar. "We already put our names on the wait list for mini-golf. The wait isn't too bad today – only thirty minutes." They made their way through the crowds of people playing arcade games until they reached the bar.

"What are you drinking?" Emma asked.

"Vodka neat," Regina replied plainly.

"Shit, okay. Didn't realize we were starting off with shots," Emma chuckled, flagging down the bartender.

"It's the most calorically efficient," Regina explained.

"Oh, come on. I was going to go with it but just because you said that now you have to get something else," Emma insisted with her hands on her hips.

"Tequila neat, then," Regina sassed back, folding her arms across her chest.

"Regina, tonight is supposed to be fun. I don't want you worrying about calories and all the shit Gold has been spewing," Emma retorted with a frown. She didn't want to argue with Regina but she couldn't sit back while her attitude toward calories spiraled.

"Just because I'm being mindful of my consumption doesn't mean I'm not having fun," Regina insisted. "I will not be putting all that artificial sugar into my body."

"Fine." Emma acquiesced, knowing she wouldn't win the argument. She didn't want the night to go downhill within the first five minutes of arriving. She really did want Regina to have some fun. She suspected the brunette didn't have much of a social life outside Katherine and Fred. "Vodka neat," she said to the bartender who had made their way over to them. "And add it to my tab, please."

"Coming right up," they acknowledged with a nod.

"Emma you don't have to buy my drink," said Regina, reaching to dig out her own wallet.

"I don't _have_ to do anything," Emma retorted. "But I dragged you out here so at least let me buy you your first drink."

"Fine," Regina conceded, tucking her wallet back into her purse.

Soon, they were entering the artist-curated mini-golf course. After some friendly banter and wagers it was agreed that the loser would be up first at karaoke. The first hole involved some weird mini Ferris wheel that lifted your ball over a water hazard and deposited it on the green near the hole. Regina chuckled as she looked out at the rest of the eclectic course. _Of course_ Emma Swan would find a place like this.

After the first five holes, it was becoming clear the game was between Emma and Regina. Regina was leading with 9, Emma trailed with 11, followed by Shang, Neal, and Belle with 14, David and Aurora with 15, and Mary-Margaret, Phillip, and Ruby bringing up the rear with 16.

After Regina got two consecutive holes in one on holes 6 and 7 Emma was in disbelief. "Okay that was like pure luck," she insisted.

"Call it whatever you want but I'm still winning fair and square," Regina replied with a smirk. She was pleased to be in the lead, but she found the most satisfaction in watching Mary-Margaret struggling miserably. That was slightly tampered however, by David wrapping his arms around her to help her putt in a straight line. Had she known Mary-Margaret and her puppy-eyed loverboy would be out she may have reconsidered. She rolled her eyes hard and sauntered off to the next hole.

"What is it with you and Mary-Margaret, anyway?" Emma had the nerve to ask when they were slightly away from the rest of the group. "I know she can be a bit naïve, but she's actually very sweet."

Regina turned sharply to face her and narrowed her eyes. "Mary-Margaret is an air-headed blabber-mouth with little regard for the consequences of her own actions," she snarled, causing Emma's eyebrows to rise nearly to her hairline.

"Wow, okay. So, there's obviously a story there," Emma commented.

"I don't wish to discuss it," Regina snapped.

Emma lifted her hands in a defensive gesture. "Fine," she replied. "Just trying to understand."

Regina sulked through the next several holes while Emma desperately tried to lighten the mood. By hole 17 Regina was in the lead with 35, Emma hung onto second with 46, Shang held third with 54, followed by Belle with 56, Neal with 57, Aurora with 61, David with 64, Phillip with 71, Ruby with 79, and Mary-Margaret brought up the rear with a pitiful 93.

"How is this supposed to work?" asked Aurora when they reached hole 17, titled _Grand Slam_.

"You're supposed to hit the golf ball off the T using one of the bats and try to get it through that little window up there," Ruby replied, gesturing to a 2'x2' square hole in a hanging vinyl mural painted to look like the inside of a baseball stadium. "If you miss, you have to putt with your bat to get it into the hole, otherwise it's designed to give you a hole in one."

"Is that even possible?" chimed Belle.

"In fact, it is," said Emma with a haughty upward tilt of her chin and an impish grin. She had donned one of the available baseball helmets and was swinging a bat around in her right hand. "I've done it before and I'll do it again."

"Well by all means, step right up," announced David in his best impression of an umpire.

Regina didn't think her eyes could roll any further back in her head. She stood off to the side and watched Emma step up to the plate with a skeptical expression and arms folded across her chest. "Try not to hurt yourself," she said sarcastically.

"I'll have you know I played softball in middle school," Emma countered. "I think I know what I'm doing." Regina chuckled and watched as Emma wound up to hit her little yellow golf ball off the T.

She swung the bat in a forceful arc. The ball whizzed off the stand and flew straight into the hole in the hanging vinyl mural. The ball ping-ponged around inside the chute before popping out at the bottom and rolling smoothly into the hole. Regina bemusedly rolled her eyes while the group cheered and Emma performed an elaborate ballet curtsey with full _port de bras_.

"You're up next, your highness," said Emma with a wink, holding out the bat for Regina to take. She removed her helmet and dramatically shook out her hair (not unlike a shampoo commercial). She gently placed it on Regina's head and gave her a quick helmet tap before stepping back to give her space. "Let's see what you've got."

Regina narrowed her eyes at her before placing her purple golf ball on the T and winding up to swing. The rest of the group looked on in disbelief, still in shock that Regina Mills had willingly come out to mini-golf and karaoke night. She focused on the ball for a few seconds before swinging her bat. The ball went flying off to the left and hit Emma squarely in the tit.

"Jesus H. Christ, Regina!" Emma exclaimed. The group burst into laughter as Emma dramatically clutched at her breast. Regina brought her hands up to her face and flushed a deep red.

"I'm so sorry Emma!" she exclaimed, thoroughly embarrassed.

"I think I'll live," Emma chuckled. "But, just for that you have to putt with a bat instead of a club."

"What? No!" she protested. "That's totally unfair."

"You injured me, it's totally fair," Emma justified. Regina opened her mouth again to argue but was cut off by Emma's bargaining. "Okay fine, how about, you putt with a bat and I won't make you do karaoke later. Or, you can use your golf club, but then you owe me a song."

Regina scowled and held out her hand for her golf ball. "Fine. I'll putt with the bat." Emma smirked in response.

10 putts later Regina was no closer to hitting her ball into the hole. She groaned loudly and glared at Emma who continued to smirk off to the side. The others watched on in entertainment, completely baffled as to how Emma had managed to pull out this other side of Regina.

"If you want, you can switch to your club," Emma conceded. Without a second thought Regina handed the bat off to David and snatched her club from off the floor. "But now you'll owe me a song," Emma finished in a sing-song voice.

"I'd like to see you try and make me," Regina retorted. With one putt, her purple golf ball disappeared into the hole.

"Is that a challenge?" Emma goaded. Regina rolled her eyes and stood off to the side to watch the others attempt to hit their ball with the bat.

Only three golf ball-induced-injuries later, the group was headed off to the last hole, known as "The Hole Formerly Known As The Longest Hole In The World."

Belle chuckled at the sign next to the green that read "For the love of GOD, this is not a driving range!" in bold black letters.

One smug hole-in-one later Regina was the proud winner of mini-golf. With her unfortunate 11-stroke 17th hole she barely maintained the lead with 47, tailed closely by Emma at 49, Shang hung onto third with 60, followed by Belle with 68, Neal with 69, Aurora with 78, David with 80, Phillip with 83, Ruby with 87, and Mary-Margaret with a miserable 107.

"Where'd you get so good at mini-golf anyway?" Emma asked as they headed back to the bar to get more drinks.

"A lot of family golf trips through the years," Regina replied ruefully. "My mother made me take lessons for years until I got too busy with ballet."

"Ah, I see," Emma acknowledged. "Well, congratulations, no one has beaten me at this course all year," she continued with a chuckle. "You owe me a song now though so let's get some drinks and sing!"

Before Regina could protest again, she was being herded to the bar with the rest of the group. At Emma's raised eyebrow she ordered herself a gin and tonic instead of a vodka neat. Two drinks later she was feeling decently intoxicated. She didn't often drink more than a single glass of wine, which made her alcohol tolerance pretty pathetic. Not that the rest of the group was fairing all that much better. Gather a group of ballet dancers with BMIs between 17 and 20 and there isn't much body fat to displace the effects of the liquor.

Regina watched on in a mix of embarrassment and amusement while Emma, Ruby, Shang and Neal climbed onto the stage for karaoke. Their group name was projected on the screen above the stage: All Ballet Bitches Aregoodatkaraoke.

Regina barked out a laugh and turned to Belle to ask what in the world they were thinking.

"I think that's the best acronym they could come up with for ABBA in their current intoxicated states," Belle replied, equally as amused.

Before they could continue Emma and Ruby boldly sang out the opening notes. "If you change your mind, I'm the first in line." Li Shang and Neal carried out the base with "take a chance take a chance take a take a chance chance." Regina's jaw practically hit the floor as the group enthusiastically belted out the song with what almost looked like a choreographed dance to go with it. Their vocals weren't _good_ necessarily, but what they lacked in musical talent they more than made up for in enthusiasm and performance quality.

"Did they... choreograph this?..." Regina asked, somewhat bewildered.

"Not officially," replied Mary-Margaret from across the table. Regina tensed. Between all her back-and-forth with Emma earlier she had almost forgotten the younger brunette was there. "ABBA is kind of their go-to with karaoke, so certain bits have just stuck over time."

Regina nodded tersely and returned her focus to the stage where she made eye contact with Emma. _"Oh, you can take your time baby, I'm in no hurry, know I'm gonna get ya."_ Regina felt her face flush slightly and her heart fluttered in her chest. She quickly turned her attention back to her third gun and tonic of the night of the night and sipped furiously, trying to think of anything else but Emma. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Belle grinning like an absolute idiot at Ruby who was very blatantly singing at her. Across the table Mary-Margaret had laid her head on David's shoulder, earning a scowl from Regina.

She tried (in vain) to watch anyone but Emma up on the stage as the group finished out their song. Her brain was getting fuzzy around the edges and she blinked slowly as she watched the group clamber down from the stage.

"Entertained?" Emma asked with a smile as she plopped down next to Regina at the high-top table the group had managed to snag.

"Sure," Regina replied with a smirk. "I'll admit what you may lack in vocal talent you certainly made up for with theatrics."

"Oh, I never claimed to be a good singer," Emma laughed, taking a sip of her margarita. "You on the other hand, I'm excited to hear."

Regina eyed Emma with a sliver of suspicion. "I told you earlier, I don't sing."

"Whatever you say, _Rihanna_," Emma challenged.

"You-"

"I forgot my wallet on the bench earlier so I had to come back and get it," Emma replied, maintaining eye contact with Regina the whole time. Regina sat frozen in place. Of course the _one_ time she showered at the studio instead of waiting until she got home someone would overhear her. "So what song are you going to sing?"

Regina picked up her glass and downed the rest of her drink. She clutched the empty glass to her chest and settled back into her chair, staring blankly at the table.

Emma faltered, "I mean, if you really don't want to, you don't have to…" she trailed off.

"Sorry," Regina muttered. "I just really would prefer not to."

"It's okay," Emma encouraged. "I'm sorry for pushing so hard. I would never want to make you do something you really don't want to do." Regina looked at her with emotion swimming in her eyes. Emma could pick out gratitude and pain, but something else was there under the surface that she couldn't pinpoint.

"Thank you," Regina said softly, looking back down at her hands. "I'm going to get another drink…" Before Emma could reply, she was walking quickly away from the table towards the bar and Emma was left wondering what on earth could have set her off. The woman was a professional ballet dancer so there was no way it was stage-fright. Sure, singing wasn't what she was accustomed to performing for an audience, but given Regina's often haughty confidence Emma doubted nerves were the reason. There had to be some sort of story there.

Regina returned as Mary-Margaret and David finished a sickening rendition of /iLove Is An Open Door/i. "I thought you were going to get a drink?" Emma asked when Regina sat back down at the table empty handed.

"I finished it at the bar while Snow White and loverboy were singing that god-awful song together," Regina answer in a bored tone, examining her cuticles. She normally didn't mind David so much but she certainly found his new infatuation with Mary-Margaret off-putting.

"You finished it?" Emma said quizzically.

"I had to distract myself from the atrocities happening on stage somehow, didn't I?" Regina countered. Emma raised her eyebrows at that.

"Someday will you tell me what happened between you two?" she inquired softly, placing a warm hand on Regina's forearm. Regina looked up at her thoughtfully.

"Maybe," she relented. It wasn't a tale she had told hardly anyone. Katherine was probably the only person who knew outside of those who had been actively involved all those years ago. Before she could get into too much of a downward spiral, the lights slowly started to come up and the DJ announced bar close. "How is it already 1am?" she slurred slightly.

"Time flies when you're having fun," Emma suggested with a wink. Regina rolled her eyes and stood up from her stool, swaying slightly now that the alcohol was really hitting her system. "We should probably get you home."

Since they'd been sitting for so long it hadn't been entirely obvious how intoxicated Regina was getting but now that they were walking out Emma realized what a light-weight she was when it came to liquor. After she tripped on the first step, Emma wound an arm around her waist and held onto the railing to keep her from falling. The last thing she needed was for Regina to get injured a month before the show.

The group split off to get in their respective Lyfts. Ruby shot Emma a wink and a smirk as she slid into a car after Belle. Something told her she wouldn't be seeing Ruby for the early brunch they had planned the next day.

"Okay, what's your address?" Emma asked a noodley Regina. "I'll get us a Lyft to your place, drop you off and then go home." Regina looked up at Emma and rested her chin on her shoulder which put their faces a little closer than Emma necessarily felt comfortable with.

"Too far," she mumbled. "Need sleep."

"Okay… we'll just go back to my place then?" Emma asked somewhat hesitantly, unsure what direction this was going. Regina merely hummed and closed her eyes, turning her head to rest against Emma's shoulder. Emma entered her apartment address into the app. They waited a short 4 minutes for the Lyft to arrive in which Emma's main focus was making sure Regina didn't fall asleep standing up. She was slightly concerned with how quickly it all seemed to be hitting her at once.

She guided Regina carefully into the backseat of the Lyft and buckled them both in. Regina resumed their former position of her head resting on Emma's shoulder. The ride back to Emma's apartment was quiet save for Regina's soft humming. It was a tune Emma recognized but couldn't name. She was lulled nearly to sleep until the Lyft driver announced they had arrived in front of her building.

She led Regina up the stairs to her building and up to her apartment. Regina slowly looked around the room while Emma busied herself with locking the door and unlacing her Adidas sneakers.

"Your place is nicer than I expected," Regina admitted.

"I mean, I'm certainly not making a glamorous salary at ANB, but it pays the bills," Emma replied. "Come on, I'll get you something to sleep in." She indicated toward a door at the other end of the apartment. She led the way to her bedroom and fished a large AC/DC t-shirt out of her dresser for Regina, as well as an old Prince t-shirt for herself.

"I usually just sleep in a t-shirt and underwear, so I don't really have any pajama pants to offer you," confessed Emma sheepishly. "But, I have some basketball shorts you can borrow if that would make you more comfortable."

"This is fine," yawned Regina sleepily. She began to peel off her romper, to reveal a lacy black bra and more cleavage than Emma expected. Not that she had previously spent any time thinking about Regina's cleavage. She flushed beet red, thankful for the dim lighting.

"I'll be right back," she stammered. "Don't go to sleep yet." She rushed out of the room to the kitchen. She quickly changed into her own t-shirt and boyshorts and haphazardly threw her clothes into a nearby closet to deal with the next day. She snatched two large cups down from the cupboard and filled them with water. Grabbing some ibuprofen out of her first aid kid she gathered up her supplies and walked back into her room. Regina was sprawled on the bed staring up at the ceiling.

"Is it bad that the ceiling is spinning?" Regina asked calmly.

"Well, it's definitely not a good sign," Emma answered. "Have you never been drunk before?..."

"It's been a while," she admitted with a lazy blink. "And I don't think I've ever been _this_ drunk." She continued to stare up at the ceiling, her eyes beginning to droop.

"Sit up a minute," Emma requested, setting the glass of water and the ibuprofen down on the nightstand. Regina shifted so she was sitting mostly upright. "Take these," Emma instructed, holding out the ibuprofen tablets. "And drink this whole glass of water."

"I don't think I can drink the whole thing," Regina confessed, taking the pills out of Emma's hand and reaching for the glass of water.

"You can," stated Emma encouragingly. "You'll thank me in the morning when you don't have the world's worst hangover." Regina eyed her skeptically but took the pills and started downing the water. She paused a few times but managed to finish the whole glass.

"Good. Now you can go to sleep, and I'll see you in the morning. Bathroom is the first door on your right outside my room if you need it," said Emma while she gathered up the glasses. She started walking towards the door before Regina's voice stopped her.

"Where are you going?" she asked tiredly.

"To put these glasses away, and then to the couch," Emma replied.

"I don't want to kick you out of bed in your own apartment," Regina protested. "It's a full-size bed and we're both adults. We can share," she reasoned.

"Uhhh… okay," Emma conceded hesitantly. "I'll just go put these away and come back then…" She quickly turned and walked out the door. The idea of sharing a bed with Regina made her heart rate speed up. She deposited the glasses next to the sink to take care of in the morning and slowly tiptoed back to her bedroom.

Taking a deep breath, she pushed open the door to find Regina already passed out under the covers. She crawled into bed as quietly as she could and settled in. She couldn't help but notice how much calmer Regina looked in slumber. Her usual hardness softened in sleep. Emma sighed and closed her eyes, letting the slightly tipsy spinning feeling carry her to sleep.

. . . .

The next morning Emma awoke to something tickling her nose. She sleepily blinked her eyes open to find a mass of dark brown hair curled up under her chin. When she realized who it was wrapped around her side like a koala her stomach flip-flopped nervously. Over the course of the night Regina had moved to lay halfway on top of Emma. She had one leg wrapped around one of Emma's, one arm flung across her torso, and her head resting on her chest.

Emma didn't even want to think of Regina's potential reaction to waking up in such a position. She desperately wished she could maintain their current cocoon but the odds of Regina completely freaking out, she reasoned, were quite high. Emma's history wasn't peppered with very many friends, but she was pretty sure most friends didn't snuggle this intimately. She slowly and carefully untangled herself from Regina's koala grip and got out of bed. She slipped out the door to the kitchen, filled a glass with water and retrieved some more ibuprofen. She carefully laid it out on the nightstand next to Regina with a note about where to find facewash, toothpaste, and a spare toothbrush in the bathroom. She threw on a pair of sweatpants and a hoodie and padded back out to the kitchen.

What was once a small crush was developing into something she feared she would have a difficult time controlling. Regina was attractive, sure, but so were most of the women in the company and Emma managed to not get sucked in by them. There was just something about Regina and the way she carried herself that had Emma tripping over her words at times. And the night before she had been so unexpectedly relaxed in a way that pulled at Emma's heart. They had come so far in the last few weeks. When rehearsals had first started, Regina could hardly stand to be in the same room as Emma but now she trusted Emma enough to fall asleep next to her.

Emma sighed and started pulling ingredients for omelets out of the fridge and put on a pot of coffee. A few minutes later she heard her bedroom door squeak open and a very disheveled Regina appeared around the corner to the kitchen.

"Good morning sleeping beauty," Emma teased. Regina's hair was sticking out at odd angles and she had black smudges under her eyes from the makeup she had on the night before. "There's facewash, toothpaste, and a spare toothbrush laid out for you in the bathroom. I'm about to start myself an omelet for breakfast, would you like one?"

"Wow, sure," Regina replied with a yawn. "Thank you. And thank you for the water and ibuprofen too, that helped a lot."

"Anytime," Emma replied with a smile. Regina slipped out of the kitchen and returned several minutes later with a clean face and her hair pulled back into a neat French braid. The pair ate lunch at the countertop and made easy conversation, laughing about mini-golf and the karaoke disasters from the previous night. After breakfast was cleaned up Regina gathered her things and thanked Emma again before heading out.

As soon as the door shut behind her Emma let out a big sigh. She was so done for. Her phone vibrated loudly on the kitchen counter accompanied by a wolf howl, indicating a text from her best friend.

_Did I just see Regina Mills exiting our building?_

This was going to be fun to explain.

* * *

**Note:** The holes at Can Can don't have a listed par so you just total everything up. The lowest possible score is 18 (I guess). Also, this course is insane, my lowest score is 73, and I would say I'm middle of the road in terms of mini-golf abilities.


	7. It's Only Pretend

Notes: Sorry for the hella delay! Enjoy chapter 7 :)

* * *

"_Seriously Ruby," Emma said in a warning tone. "Nothing happened last night. She was just too drunk to make her way home by herself and I wanted to make sure she was okay so she stayed over."_

_Ruby pursed her lips in skepticism. "Whatever you say Swannie."_

_Emma rolled her eyes at the nickname and took a sip of her water. "Bold of you to tease me when you're the one who very clearly didn't spend much time actively sleeping last night," teased Emma. _

"_Belle and I aren't planning on hiding anything, actually," Ruby said pointedly. "At least _we_ got our act together and made a move."_

"_There's nothing between Regina and I and there will not ever be anything between Regina and I. Besides, she's not even into women anyway," Emma insisted. _

"_Just because she doesn't have a history, doesn't mean it's not there," Ruby sing-singed back to her, earning a scoff and an eye roll. _

"_Whatever," Emma replied dismissively. "Have fun trying to cover up that massive hickey on your neck this week."_

Emma smirked at the memory and eyed the dark purple mark on her friend's neck across the room.

"She could at least have _a little_ shame..." Regina muttered to Emma as they planked side-by-side before class.

Emma chuckled, "since when have you known Ruby to ever have any shame?"

"Touché," Regina acquiesced with a tilt of her head. The two finished out their 2-minute plank before they were interrupted by Mr. Gold entering the studio. He limped across the studio to them, his cane thudding dully against the marley floor.

"Ladies," he greeted politely, resting both hands on his cane as he looked down on them. "I'd like to see you both in my office after class, before your first rehearsal. I have some updates on our strategy for Giselle."

"Okay," they both agreed neutrally. Getting called to the artistic director's office certainly wasn't always a bad thing but it definitely filled even the most seasoned dancers (like Regina) with nerves. Mr. Gold limped his way back out of the studio and the room stayed silent until the click of his cane faded down the hallway back to his office.

"What do you think that was about?" Emma asked Regina nervously. She fidgeted with her TheraBand while she waited for Regina to reply.

"I'm not sure…" Regina replied, her gaze still fixed pointedly at the door. Emma hummed and wrapped her TheraBand around her foot so she could resume her warm-up exercises. _I guess we'll just have to wait and see,_ she thought.

Madame Bonfamille, another of their ballet mistresses, taught class that day. She typically taught a pretty tough class but today was particularly brutal. In some ways, it was good, because it kept Emma's train of thought from spiraling about what Mr. Gold could possibly say to them after class. But, on the other hand, it certainly wasn't the most enjoyable or self-esteem-boosting class she had ever taken.

In the center, Madame Bonfamille gave an absurdly long adagio combination featuring several _grand pirouettes_, a reverse _penché_, and promenades with their leg in _a la seconde_. Of course, Regina, ever the adagio dancer, executed the entire thing with the grace and poise that no doubt earned her the position of Principal Dancer. As much as Emma enjoyed standing next to Regina for all the combinations in class, she missed getting to go in alternate groups so she could watch her. She moved with such elegance. Every movement was perfectly placed yet somehow still appeared organic instead of robotic. Emma fought her way through the combination and even managed a few triple _pirouettees in attitude_.

By the end of class, she was so inwardly focused on her technique that she almost forgot about their meeting with Mr. Gold. At Regina's reminder, she tossed back on a few of her warm-ups, to keep from getting cold, and the pair made their way down the hall to the artistic director's office.

They found him sitting at his desk looking through old issues of _Pointe Magazine_. "Ah, ladies, do come in," he motioned with his hand for them to take a seat in the two chairs on the opposite side of his desk and to shut the door behind them. His office was large, but felt small due to the amount of knick-knacks covering nearly every surface.

"So…" Emma trailed off, unnerved by the way Gold was eyeing them. He smirked slightly as he closed the magazine he had been leafing through and set it to the side.

"Publicity within the dance world has been going well for this new production of Giselle," he began. He shifted to lean back in his chair, crossing one ankle over the opposite knee and folding his hands in his lap. "But, we have yet to gain the attention of mainstream media. What is it about ballet that doesn't draw people in like it used to?" Regina and Emma continued to stare blankly back at him. "That was not a rhetorical question, dearies."

Regina pursed her lips in annoyance. Her gut was telling her he was up to something, but she couldn't quite figure out his angle. "I suppose people don't find it relatable anymore," Regina answered. "During the classical era of Sleeping Beauty and Swan Lake, the royals loved going to the ballet because they could see themselves in the characters on stage. Classical ballet doesn't currently do a great job of telling modern stories. Some also find it elitist."

Mr. Gold tapped his pointer finger on his nose twice before pointing it back at Regina. "Right you are. Now, other than a moving and relatable story, what gets media attention?"

"Drama, usually," Emma supplied, eyes narrowing in suspicion.

"I do love a woman I don't have to spoon feed," Mr. Gold replied smugly. "But don't forget drama without one key ingredient is just a petty dispute."

Emma's face turned one shade paler as she realized where he was taking this. Regina continued to stare at him suspiciously, still not having figured out his angle.

After it became clear that neither woman was going to reply, Mr. Gold interjected. "Love. That's the key ingredient."

"And what-" Regina cut herself off, realization hitting her like a train.

"In order to gain the media attention we need," Mr. Gold explained, "the two of you are going to enter into a relationship."

Regina opened her mouth to protest but Mr. Gold held up a hand to silence her. "I know you're both single so don't pretend this is going to interfere with some other grand romance you have. You only have to pretend for the media, and I suppose the rest of the company - it wouldn't do well to have too many people knowing this is all for PR."

"But, I'm not even into women," Emma insisted, panicking slightly. Old memories were beginning to resurface that she didn't care to relive.

"Well then it's a good thing you won't be in a real relationship here isn't it?" Mr. Gold snapped. "The open rehearsal on Wednesday will be followed by a Q&A session. You will find a way to organically weave your relationship into the conversation. You will also post regularly on your social media accounts. We need the publicity, and your job is on the line if this doesn't pay out."

Emma snapped her jaw shut with a click. Regina sat stock still next to her other than her hands fidgeting in her lap.

"That's all," he stated airily, waving a hand in dismissal and turning his focus back to his stack of magazines.

Regina opened and closed her mouth once before slowly standing and turning to leave the room. Emma followed hastily behind her, sparing one last glance over her shoulder at their director, who was once again engrossed in an old issue of _Pointe_.

Neither of them said a word to each other through their entire lunch break, each too caught up in their own thoughts about the latest development. Regina found herself at war with her feelings. She had accepted that Emma was not as annoying as she had once believed and found she actually enjoyed her presence. She felt entirely conflicted however that she wasn't completely scandalized by the idea of being in a relationship – real or not real – with Emma. She didn't want to jump into bed with her by any means but the idea didn't completely disgust her, which she found deeply unsettling.

Across the table, Emma's panic was just barely contained below the surface. She had a good group of friends and got on well with the rest of the company. She supposed she wouldn't lose Ruby and Elsa, seeing as they already knew, but she didn't want to lose the friendship and respect of her peers. Not again. Not to mention probably making Regina completely uncomfortable. That friendship was beginning to mean more to her than she cared to admit. Her casual crush was starting to bloom into real feelings that she couldn't seem to keep at bay no matter how hard she tried. However, even just being friends with Regina, and nothing more, was better than nothing at all.

She knew she was going to have to play it cool. She could tell Regina wasn't handling the news much better than herself. _She's probably mortified at the mere idea of being in a relationship with me,_ Emma thought to herself. As their lunch break ended and they made their way towards studio 101 Emma gently nudged Regina's side with her elbow. Regina looked up at her with vulnerability in her chocolate colored eyes.

"We still cool?" Emma asked nonchalantly, though her eyes gave away her nerves.

A soft, but warm smile slowly formed on Regina's face, and her eyes relaxed. "Yes, Emma. We're still cool."

Emma released the breath she had been holding, the corners of her mouth turning upwards into a small smile. "Cool." She knew no other words needed to be spoken between the two of them. So far, Regina still didn't really do the whole "share your feelings" thing. Not that Emma loved talking about her feelings either, but the brunette seemed particularly averse to opening up.

Emma startled slightly when she felt cautious warm fingers sliding between her own. She looked down to see Regina's fingers wrapped around hers. Her heart flip-flopped dramatically in her chest as she caught Regina's hesitant gaze and felt her probing eyes searching her own. She gently squeezed Regina's hand and returned her gaze to the hallway ahead of them. She didn't let go until they walked in the door of the studio and had to set down their bags.

They started off the rehearsal with a run through of the last chunk of Act II after the pas de deux. Regina found herself getting lost in the feeling of being held by Emma Swan. Her strong arms, which had grown stronger and stronger each week, held her steady and guided her around the studio as they danced together. She was alarmed to realize how good it felt to be wrapped up in Emma. In the moments between runs when they weren't dancing she felt inexplicably drawn to Emma, standing just a tad closer to her than strictly necessary. She kept herself in check enough not to reach out for her, but the strange urge was still there.

Emma, for her part, was avoiding initiating any unnecessary contact altogether. The idea of Regina finding out her true feelings absolutely mortified her. She was going to let Regina set the pace on what how far she was willing to go to with their newfound pretend relationship.

Halfway through the three-hour rehearsal, Mr. Gold walked in with a tall, lanky red-haired man. He wore large, wire-rimmed circular glasses and had a camera hanging around his neck. Milo Thatch was the company photographer. It wasn't uncommon for him to photograph rehearsals, but they usually were notified in advance. Mr. Gold exchanged a few brief words with Mulan before turning and heading for the door. Before exiting, he looked pointedly at Emma and Regina and mouthed "showtime."

Regina sighed next to Emma. "Here's our chance to get some Instagram content, I guess," muttered Regina. Milo moved quietly around the room – he knew better than to be a distraction – capturing the ethereal moments in the choreography as well as the pedestrian moments of the dancers standing on the sides. While the Willis danced, Regina stepped in front of Emma and pulled her arms around her, so their hands were joined and resting across her stomach. Emma tentatively rested her chin on the top of Regina's head while they watched the corps dance in unison. In the background, she most definitely heard the clicking of a camera pointed in their direction, but she didn't dare look.

As they moved into Giselle's entrance and the pas de deux, they heard the continuous clicking of the camera in the background, capturing the most intimate moments in the choreography.

They ran through the bulk of Act II, stopping here and there for little notes and quick fixes. The pair maintained almost constant physical contact through notes, which earned a few prolonged stares from some other members of the corps and some serious raised eyebrows from Kathryn and Ruby.

Emma felt as though her heart was about to beat out of her chest. She knew her colleagues were piecing the story together. Of course, after their little night out over the weekend it likely didn't come as too much of a shock – Mary-Margaret had no doubt mentioned to half the corps de ballet by now that Regina and Emma had gone home together (even though that night had been completely platonic). Emma loved her friend dearly, but the woman just _could not_ keep a secret.

At the conclusion of rehearsal, the two parted ways somewhat awkwardly, unsure of the proper way to say goodbye now that they were "involved." Emma watched as Katherine practically dragged Regina out the door with Ruby storming out shortly after.

"Fuck," Emma muttered under her breath. She gathered up her things and changed into her gym clothes to meet up with the guys. If she thought the rumor mill only included the women of the company, she was most definitely wrong.

"So, you and Regina, eh?" said Neal slyly as she walked into the weight room. Emma flushed bright red. "I was wondering what was up with you two lately, and then I come to hear you took her home with you on Friday night! Nice going, stud!" He punched her shoulder affectionately.

"Hey, nothing happened!" she denied reflexively before realizing it would actually make the relationship more believable if she went along with their assumptions. "Well…nothing _happened_ happened…" she clarified, feeling some need to defend Regina's privacy. "She's not just a conquest."

Neal's eyebrows raised at that. "Shit, Swan. Do you have feelings for her?"

_Shit._ "It's complicated…" Emma trailed off. She was supposed to be _pretending_ to have feelings for Regina but the more she tried to pretend it all wasn't real the more real she realized how real it all actually was.

"As long as she makes you happy, that's all we care about," David interjected kindly, cutting off Neal's line of teasing.

"You guys don't have any like…issue with it?" Emma asked hesitantly.

Shang looked at her incredulously, "Emma, are you seriously asking us that?" At Emma's nervous stare he continued, "Neal and I have been dating for the last year and a half and there are at least four other same-sex couples in the company. It's a non-issue!"

Emma's shoulders tensed and she crossed her arms across her stomach protectively. "I just…" she began, before David cut her off.

"Emma. I promise everything is going to be fine. No one is going to have an issue with this," said David reassuringly. He pulled her into a half hug and rubbed her arm affectionately. Emma flashed him a watery smile, grateful for his support in her pretend (not pretend) pursuit of Regina. "Now, let's do what we came here to do!"

David clapped his hands together enthusiastically and led the group over to the free weights, where they typically began their workouts. The next thirty minutes of training passed by with pleasant chatter and Emma left the gym feeling slightly better than she had throughout the majority of the day. The whole situation was still a holy mess, but at least she knew she wouldn't have to go through the torment she had experienced back when she was still a student. Pretending to pretend was turning out to be a lot more complicated than she could have ever imagined.

"Nice try, missy," Katherine scolded, dragging Regina, who had been trying to escape to the Metro station, towards her car. "You're coming home with me, and you're going to tell me all about your new little romance while I make us dinner."

"Katherine," Regina whined, futilely attempting to free her wrist from her friend's firm grasp. "I need to roll out my legs and ice my feet."

"So?" Katherine pushed. "You can do that at my house, and you can talk at the same time." Regina groaned but didn't protest. Katherina dropped her wrist once they reached her car and she was sure Regina wouldn't try to make a break for it. They drove in companionable silence until they pulled up in front of Katherine and Fred's quaint two-bedroom house. Regina didn't trudge, necessarily, – she was a bit more refined than that – but she certainly didn't walk with her usual sense of purpose as she followed Katherine up the front walkway.

As soon as the door shut behind them Katherine pulled Regina into the kitchen, man-handling her slightly until she was perched on a barstool at the kitchen island. "Okay, spill," she demanded, hands splayed on the countertop as she stared Regina down across it. Regina hesitated. "I heard all about your little outing this weekend and how you went home with her after. I'm glad you finally got some but I'm a little disappointed I had to hear through the grapevine."

"No, Katherine, it's not like that!" Regina insisted. How had she even heard about her weekend anyway? "Emma and I did _not_ sleep together. Neither of us are even into women anyway!"

"That lie gets less convincing each time you say it," Katherine retorted dryly with a cocked eyebrow. "Then what exactly did I witness in rehearsal today? Hmm? You two were practically all over each other!"

Regina sighed heavily. "Okay, this has to stay a secret," she started hesitantly. "Mr. Gold asked Emma and I to pretend to be in a relationship to get more publicity for Giselle."

"Wha- bu- huh?!" Katherine stuttered wildly, bringing her hands up to the sides of her face. "And you agreed to that?!"

"Well, I guess I should say more so _told_ us to pretend, less _asked_. He didn't really give us a choice," Regina clarified. She wrung her hands together nervously as she waited for Katherine to respond.

Katherine, for her part, continued to stare completely dumbfounded back at Regina. She had worked with Mr. Gold for a long time, and he had made some questionable and occasionally downright slimy decisions along the way, but this one really shocked her. "What is he trying to accomplish here?" she finally broke her silence and asked. "This isn't Hollywood. It's not like ET is going to pick up this story and we'll find the two of you splashed across the front page of People magazine."

"I'm not sure what he's planning," Regina admitted. "But I honestly wouldn't put it past him to try and get the mainstream media involved. I think he agreed to this ballet for the potential attention."

Katherine snorted and pushed away from the counter, turning around and beginning to pull produce out of the refrigerator. "How do you feel about a roasted veggie bowl with quinoa and wild rice?"

Regina hummed in acceptance and looked down at her phone which had just lit up on the countertop. Her stomach clenched when she saw it was an email from Mr. Gold. She pressed her thumb on the message to open it up and felt her heart rate quicken.

**Subject:** Publicity

**To:** Mills, Regina; Swan, Emma;

_Good evening ladies,_

_Please see attached images for your personal use on social media. Thank you both for your commitment to the success of this ballet. _

_See you in class tomorrow,_

_Rupert Gold _

_Artistic Director_

_American National Ballet_

Regina exhaled and clicked open the attached zip file. The first several photos were action shots taken from rehearsal and were actually quite stunning. One in particular made her stop and stare wide-eyed for a minute before Katherine noticed and snatched her phone away.

"Hey!" she protested, reaching for her phone where Katherine held it out of reach. "Give that back!"

Katherine stepped back further and looked down at the screen, her eyebrows raising at what she saw. The image was from just before the end of the ballet, before Giselle is called back to her grave with the first rays of dawn. Regina stood behind a kneeling Emma, arms draped gently around her shoulders with her cheek pressed to the side of her head. Both wore matching expressions of heartbreak and longing. Katherine swiped through the next ten images and her eyebrows continued to climb higher and higher as she took it all in. Regina wrapped up in Emma's arms while they watched the Willis from the side, Regina grinning like a schoolgirl while Emma whispered something in her ear, Emma looking at Regina like she had just hung the moon.

Katherine gently set the phone back down on the island face up and slid it back to Regina across the countertop. "So, what are you going to do about your feelings for Emma?" Katherine asked seriously, folding her arms across her chest.

Regina sputtered and hastily picked her phone up off the counter before stuffing it into the depths of her dance bag. "I do not have feelings for Emma," she insisted.

"It's okay if you do, you know," countered Katherine gently. "Emma isn't off-limits."

"She most certainly is," Regina snapped. "I _do not_ get involved with partners. You remember what happened with Robin. And besides, for the last time, I am not attracted to Emma, nor do I harbor any romantic feelings for her. This discussion is over Katherine, or I will leave and go home."

Katherine lifted her hands in a defensive gesture. "Fine."

"And the whole fake relationship is a secret okay? We're not supposed to tell anyone it's not real, so you can't even tell Fred," said Regina firmly.

"I can't just not tell my husband," Katherine protested.

"He hangs out with all the guys," Regina explained. "I know he wouldn't tell on purpose, but I just can't take that risk."

Katherine turned to dump the chopped-up vegetables into a large frying pan and sighed. "Fine, I won't tell him it's fake."

"Thank you," Regina breathed in relief. The rest of the evening was spent chatting about other company drama over dinner, icing sore feet, and rolling out stiff muscles.

When Regina arrived back at her apartment her phone vibrated once in her pocket. She pulled it out to see on her lock screen a notification from Instagram that RealEmmaSwan had tagged her in a post. She tapped on the notification to view the post and was greeted with a pair of photos. The first was the photo of her wrapped around a kneeling Emma with her cheek pressed against the side of her head. The second was of the two of them standing off to the side while the corps danced, Emma positioned behind Regina with her arms wrapped around her. The caption read "So grateful to have this woman by my side both in and outside of the studio #ANBGiselle"

There were already a slew of comments – from company members and fans alike – ranging from "I knew it!" to "Wait, are you guys together?" Regina sighed and double tapped the image, a little heart icon popping up over the post before dissolving again. She supposed she ought to post something too.

She scrolled through the photos she had received before selecting the one of her smiling like an absolute idiot _(good god, she was going to have to work on curbing _that_ facial expression)_ while Emma had one arm casually slung around her waist and was whispering something in her ear. She swiped through a few filters before settling on one she liked and typed a simple heart emoji as the caption, not feeling the need to elaborate. She posted it without a second thought and began her nightly bedtime routine. Her thoughts didn't stray from Emma until she fell into a deep dreamless sleep an hour later.

Emma banged heavily on the door to Ruby's apartment after arriving home from the gym. She was still clad in her workout leggings and had her dance bag slung over her shoulder. "Come on Ruby, I know you're home! Open up!" she called, not particularly caring if she disrupted the neighbors. She could tell Ruby was pissed at her and she hated when the two of them fought. It didn't happen all that often so it hurt all the more when it did.

After another minute of pounding, the door finally opened to a scowling Ruby. "You're disturbing the neighbors. Do you mind piping down?" she snapped angrily.

"Ruby, it's not what you think," Emma pleaded. "Please let me explain."

"Oh, you mean how you told me that there was nothing between you and Regina and then in rehearsal today you couldn't keep your hands off each other for more than thirty seconds?" Ruby snarked. "Why did you lie? Do you not trust me enough?"

"We're not really in a relationship," Emma explained frantically. "Please just let me explain."

Ruby frowned and crossed her arms in front of her chest but stepped aside, indicating for Emma to enter. The friends made their way to the couch in Ruby's living room and sat on opposite ends facing each other. Ruby tucked her legs up onto the couch and rested her chin on top of her knees.

"Explain."

Emma sighed and rested an elbow against the back of the couch to prop her head up with her hand. "Mr. Gold called us into his office before rehearsal and told us we had to pretend to be in a relationship for publicity. The whole thing is just a ploy to generate more buzz around Giselle. Nothing is real between me and Regina and it never will be – but if it was, I would have told you."

Ruby knitted her eyebrows together in a mix of confusion and disgust. "Is he even allowed to do that? That _has_ to be some weird form of sexual harassment…"

"He's the artistic director, he can pretty much do whatever he wants," said Emma, defeated. "He made it very clear that our jobs are on the line if we don't play along."

"Are you kidding me?!" Ruby nearly shouted. "That is so illegal it's not even funny. We're going to HR tomorrow. He can't do this."

"Ruby, no!" Emma panicked. "This role is a huge opportunity for me and I don't want to jeopardize anything over this. It's not like we have to do any of the physical aspects that come with a real relationship beyond some hugging and general G-rated touching when people are around to keep up the act."

Ruby gave her an evaluative stare and ran a thoughtful hand through her hair. Forever too intuitive for her own good, she asked, "You're okay with this because you actually _want_ it to be real, don't you?"

Emma tensed on the opposite side of the sofa and tucked a leg up in front of her chest protectively. "Ruby, for the last time, there is nothing between Regina and me. She doesn't even like women."

"You didn't answer my question," Ruby pointed out knowingly.

Emma groaned loudly before bursting out, "Fuck! Yes, okay? I have a little, tiny, baby, barely-there crush on her. Are you happy?"

Ruby's eyebrows skyrocketed and she retorted, "I think it's a bit deeper than just a crush if you're getting this worked up about it."

"Ruby, I am trying so hard to not have feelings for her. I am trying so hard to reign it all in. I don't need you to tease me right now, it really isn't helping," Emma pleaded, sniffling slightly. She felt frustrated tears burning at the corners of her eyes and she fought hard to keep them at bay.

"Shit, Emma, I'm sorry," Ruby relented. By nature, she was a much more verbal processor than Emma and she sometimes tripped in navigating how much she could pull out of her friend before she snapped. She pulled her friend into a warm hug and rubbed her back reassuringly. "We can drop it. I'm just worried about you is all."

"It's fine," Emma mumbled into her shoulder. "I just need to focus, and everything will be fine." She was more so trying to convince herself rather than her friend at this point.

The two friends sat together for a few more minutes before Emma left to go make herself dinner and wallow in peace. She pulled out her phone to check her notifications and saw she had an email from Mr. Gold. She scrolled through the photos he had attached and felt her stomach clench. She stared at the photo of her and Regina wrapped up in each other for a long moment before opening up Instagram.

She struggled between posting what she thought Mr. Gold would want her to post and what she actually wanted to post. In the end, she reasoned what she wanted to post probably didn't stray all that far from what Mr. Gold would want, so she threw caution to the wind. She selected her two photos and typed out the caption "So grateful to have this woman by my side both in and outside of the studio #ANBGiselle"

_Pretending to pretend. God, I'm pathetic_. She thought to herself as she hit "post." Sighing, she set her phone down on the counter and set about fixing a late supper.

* * *

Notes: There is a special place in hell for reverse penchés. Sincerely, my sad, sad hip flexors. Also PR relationships are definitely not a thing in the ballet world - but this is fan fiction, so I can do whatever I want. I just feel the need to make that clear because the ballet world is never accurately represented in books/movies/tv shows and I want to be clear with what's accurate and not accurate.


	8. The Media

Notes: Enjoy chapter 8!

* * *

Wednesday came quickly - Tuesday having passed very similarly to Monday. Rehearsal was filled with lingering touches that left Regina's heart thudding in her chest. Today was the open rehearsal followed by the Q&A where they were meant to "announce" their relationship. Regina had no idea how they were meant to naturally weave that into the conversation.

She sighed and stepped out the front door of her building to head to the Metro. This morning she had opted for a classic French twist and small, navy beaded dangle earrings to complement her navy mock neck leotard. It was one of her favorites. Navy spandex made up the body of the leotard, stopping in a straight line just above her breasts where it gave way to a delicate navy stretch lace. The lace continued as tight sleeves that reached to her wrists, and covered her entire back until just below her waist where the spandex again covered her lower half.

When she reached the studios, she deposited her jacket, shoes, and purse in her locker and brought her dance bag with her into studio 101. Emma walked in just a few minutes later, greeting her with a warm smile, and the two began their warm-up routines in tandem. They chatted quietly about everything and nothing until Miss Blue walked in and class began.

It was another standard Blue class, exceptionally boring and seeming to last forever. Regina pushed through dutifully, all the while distracted about what she could possibly say during the open rehearsal Q&A. Emma continued to catch her eyes throughout class and would send her a shy smile or make a face when Miss Blue wasn't looking. The whole thing was rather endearing and at least helped to pass the time marginally faster.

Soon, class ended and they headed off to their first rehearsals of the day – the open rehearsal wasn't until later in the afternoon. Regina ran through her Act I and Act II variations with Mulan in 219 while Emma ran through hers with Mr. Gold in studio 20.

"Do you have any idea what you're going to say later during the open rehearsal?" Emma asked nervously over lunch. The pair was sat at a table together near the windows, soaking up the spring sun.

"No idea," Regina replied regretfully. "I've done a few of these before and there's not much you can really prepare other than the standard 'what's the most challenging part of this role, what's your favorite part of the ballet, what's it like working with the choreographer?'"

Emma hummed in mild frustration as she shoveled another mouthful of roasted veggies into her mouth.

"You just have to 'roll with the punches,' as they say," Regina tacked on.

The two continued eating in comfortable silence until it was time for the rehearsal to begin. They warmed back up in the hallway before re-entering studio 101 where the bleachers had been pulled out and a group of about 40 donors and a representative from both _The Washington Post_ and _Pointe Magazine_ were seated there. They set their bags down by the piano and waited for direction.

A woman with long, flowing brown hair, wearing dark wash jeans paired with a light blue cable knit sweater and brown suede booties stepped to the front of the studio to address the small audience. "Hello and welcome to today's open rehearsal and Q&A session. For those of you who don't know me, my name is Dorothy Gale. I am the public relations manager here at American National Ballet. Today, principal dancer Regina Mills, corps de ballet dancer Emma Swan, and resident choreographer Fa Mulan have joined us to give you a bit of a sneak peek into our production of Giselle that premiers in two weeks. They'll be rehearsing the pas de deux from Act II today, and then we will have a brief question and answer session at the end. Thank you again for coming, and without further ado," she trailed off, gesturing to Mulan and the principal couple while she slowly walked off to the side of the studio to sit in her chair.

"Welcome everyone," Mulan began brightly. "I'm very excited to share this with you today. Without your generous support, work like this would not be possible. We'll start from the top." She gestured for Emma and Regina to take their places and for Dan, the accompanist, to ready himself.

Once the two women were in their places, Dan began to play. Regina began her long adagio sequence of _développés à la seconde_ and promenades in _arabesque_. The gossamer tulle of her long white practice tutu draped around her legs elegantly as she moved. As the music picked up just a tad more, Emma stepped in to take her waist for an assisted promenade. They made it through the sequence up until the lifts began before Mulan stopped them.

She clapped her hands twice softly and held one fist in the air, signaling for Dan to cut the music. "Thank you, Dan," she began, moving past the piano and towards the two women. "Ladies, that was great, I just want to tweak a few little things. Regina, when you gesture back behind you in that _arabesque_, can you brush your hand around the side of Emma's face? I think that would make a nice little moment there."

Regina nodded and they took their positions again, Regina in a third _arabesque_ towards the downstage right corner of the studio, with Emma tucked in behind her, holding onto her hips. Regina motioned forward with her arms in an _allongé_ and then circled her left back slightly behind her, gracing the side of Emma's face. Their eyes met and Regina's gaze briefly fell to her lips before she turned her head back to the corner and rolled of pointe to prepare for the _glissade_ into the lift.

"Yes!" praised Mulan enthusiastically. "That was exactly what I wanted. Now Emma, let's work a little bit on that last promenade, it looked like you had Regina just a little bit off her leg."

The trio worked a few promenades until Emma felt more comfortable with where she was holding Regina and manipulating her center of balance. They continued into the lift section. Emma strained hard and was able to hoist Regina to just above her head. She placed her gently back onto pointe to reached toward the opposite downstage corner. They continued stopping and starting again for another twenty minutes before Mulan allowed them to take a brief brake and get water.

The small audience talked softly but excitedly amongst themselves while Regina and Emma caught their breath again before running the whole _pas de deux_ from the top. They took their places once again and waited for Dan to begin.

They moved gracefully through the _pas_, Regina floating along like a cloud while Emma supported her and matched her lines. The audience was transfixed. Their eyes tracked each movement with rapt attention until the end of the _pas_. One woman in the back sniffled suspiciously and attempted to discreetly rub her eyes to hide the single tear that was sliding down her cheek. When the music stopped the audience burst into applause. Regina and Emma smiled and bowed graciously.

Dorothy stepped back to the front of the room and smiled warmly at the dancers and the crowd. "Thank you both so much, that was just breathtaking," she began warmly. "Now, Milo here is going to grab a few chairs and we can take a seat and get to some questions. Also, be advised that this Q&A session will be livestreamed on YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram, so if anyone didn't sign a media release when they came in please speak up."

Milo quickly set four chairs at the front of the studio, several feet back from the bleachers. Dorothy sat on the far left, Mulan directly to her right, followed by Regina and then Emma further down. They took their seats and waited for Dorothy to being.

"I'll go ahead and get us started," said Dorothy, looking at the audience and then at the three women seated next to her. "Mulan, I'll start with you. Will you tell us about what inspired you or motivated you to rechoreograph such an iconic ballet as Giselle with two female leads? Why not just create a new story ballet?"

"That's a great question, Dorothy," Mulan replied sincerely. "It's been a long-standing dream of mine to choreograph a full-length ballet centered around a same-sex couple – particularly two women. Ballet was my first love and has always been such a core part of my identity. But, as a lesbian, I've always felt somewhat isolated by the art form. Classical ballet is perhaps the most gendered art form out there and I've never gotten to dance my story or see my story portrayed on stage in this way. As time passes, the masses are losing interest in the classical arts. We haven't done a great job of staying relevant and current. Ballet doesn't appeal to people nowadays because they can't connect to it – it's outdated. As to why revamp an old classic instead of just creating a new story, there are a lot of reasons. I wanted this ballet to still appeal to our core audience. Giselle is a beloved favorite to ballet aficionados around the world. The classic gives our core audience something to look forward to and hopefully the sapphic twist I've taken will appeal to new audiences as well."

"Well, I definitely think you've succeeded at bringing an old classic into 21st century relevance!" commented Dorothy enthusiastically. "Now Emma and Regina, what's it like working with Mulan on this ballet?"

"Working with Mulan is always a pleasure," answers Regina thoughtfully. "I've had the privilege of working with her on several new works since joining ANB and each time has been fantastic. You can tell she really puts a lot of thought into her work. Nothing of hers ever gets presented half-baked," she finished, looking at Mulan with a smile before turning to Emma to hear her answer.

"It's been really rewarding," Emma started. "She is a very patient and nurturing choreographer which is appreciated – especially given the nature of this role."

"Well that's an opportunity if any to open it up for questions," Dorothy commented before turning to look at the audience. An older woman with short, curly grey hair raised her hand. "Go ahead," Dorothy encouraged with a nod.

"What's been the most challenging part of turning the role of Albrecht into Alberta?" the woman asked. "I'd love to hear from all three of you."

"I can start," answered Mulan. "The most obvious is the partnering aspects. Men and women are built differently and are trained differently in ballet so to set a male role on a woman came with a lot of obstacles. Emma is a talented jumper so I really didn't need to change much about any of her solo-work but adjusting some of the partnered sections was a bit challenging. But, it was also really fun to explore alternative options and see where we could really make Emma's role unique instead of just watered-down version of Albrecht," Mulan finished and looked down to Emma.

"I definitely agree," Emma started. "The partnering has been the most challenging part for me. I've had some partnering experience in the past in more contemporary works when I was still a student, but classical ballet is a whole new world. Luckily the men in the company have been a huge help. I train with them nearly every day after rehearsal. Some days we go to the gym and lift and other days we stay at the studio and I practice partnering with some of the other women and they give me pointers. Of course, Regina has been incredible throughout the whole process too," she added with a smile, placing her hand on Regina's thigh. _Here we go_. "Obviously she's an amazing dancer and is totally inspiring to be around all the time, but she's also been really helpful in coaching me as well. I think we make a pretty good team." She smiled warmly at Regina and squeezed her leg gently.

"Back there with the yellow tie," Dorothy gestured to an older man in a grey suit seated towards the back of the bleachers.

"Regina, this is your first time dancing the role of Giselle," he commented. "Does it feel like a bit of a let-down to be making accommodations due to having a female partner instead of the traditional male?"

Regina sighed internally but managed to keep her face neutral. "Not at all," she replied. "If anything, I think it's an even better opportunity. This restaging is groundbreaking and it's an honor to be part of the original cast. I'm really looking forward to seeing the impact this may have on the dance world."

The man nodded his head thoughtfully and sat back in his seat. A middle-aged woman towards the front raised her hand next.

"As straight women," she began, "what's it like playing lesbians? Is it difficult to find that same chemistry as you would with a male partner?"

Mulan looked on with interest as both Emma and Regina frowned, Emma opening and closing her mouth a few times before gathering her courage and saying, "actually, neither of us are straight…" The woman raised her eyebrows, waiting for Emma to elaborate. "And technically Alberta and Giselle aren't lesbians. Alberta is bisexual, she has a male fiancé. Giselle, I guess, isn't as clearly defined, but labels aren't really the point here. It's a story about two women who fall in love. And as far as finding chemistry with each other compared to a male partner it's actually been easier for me, but maybe that's because of Regina," she finished, blushing furiously.

"Yes," Regina agreed, nodding her head and smiling fondly at Emma. She placed her hand over Emma's where it hadn't moved from her thigh and interlaced their fingers together. "Discovering my bisexuality has been a more recent development for me but I agree, it's definitely been easier finding chemistry with Emma compared to, say, Killian, who is my usual partner. Don't get me wrong, he's a great dancer and we play off each other well, but there's just something special about Emma that hasn't been there with other partners in the past," she reasoned, gazing deeply into Emma's eyes. Emma swallowed nervously. Mulan looked on with fascination as she saw the imaginary pieces of the puzzle fitting together.

"Wait…" said Dorothy curiously. "Are you two…together?"

Emma and Regina exchanged nervous smiles. "Well, yes." Regina replied matter-of-factly. Mulan clapped her hands together, looking positively delighted.

"Did you know?" Dorothy turned to Mulan and asked.

"I didn't know, but I can't say I'm surprised," she replied enthusiastically. "These two have an unmatched chemistry. I was wondering if they were headed in this direction." She continued to smile excitedly as she turned to Regina and Emma.

"It's a fairly recent development," Emma explained. "But I think it's been brewing for a while." She held Regina's gaze and reached to tuck a stray hair behind her ear, trailing her fingers along her jawline as she retracted her hand.

"Ah!" Dorothy cried. "I just love **Love**." Emma's eyes widened slightly at the mention and she felt her heartbeat pick up a few paces. She opened her mouth to respond before her panicked expression tipped Dorothy off. "Well, maybe it's not love _yet_, but soon." She winked. "Well, we still have about five more minutes, we can probably take about 2 more questions."

The Q&A session continued uneventfully. The last two questions focused on the actual ballet and less on their personal lives. However, afterwards several donors came up to talk to them and felt no inhibitions asking how they got together, which Emma allowed Regina to take the lead on. The made-up story she came up with actually was based pretty heavily in the truth.

"I had been having feelings for Emma for a while, and then one night we went out with a group of friends and she sang _Take a Chance On Me_ by ABBA and something clicked," Regina explained to a donor while holding one of Emma's hands between the two of hers. "Found out later that night that the feeling was mutual, and now here we are!"

Regina, ever the schmoozer, took the lead on most conversations, with Emma filling in every now and then. The journalists from _Pointe Magazine_ and _The Washington Post_ came over and asked them a few more follow-up questions both about the ballet and their budding relationship. Emma assumed it was for their own nosey interest as neither publication were particularly known as gossip columns.

Eventually the guests were guided out of the room and Emma and Regina were able to escape to the women's dressing room. They changed quickly into their pedestrian clothes before heading out of the studio together and walking towards the Metro.

"Well, I guess that wasn't too horrible," admitted Emma, scuffing her feet along the sidewalk as she strolled.

"No, that certainly wasn't as uncomfortable as it could have been," Regina agreed. "You did well."

"Thank you," said Emma gratefully. "I really couldn't do any of this without you."

"Oh, I'm sure you could. But, I'm glad we're in this together, and I'm glad you're my partner for this and not someone else," she admitted somewhat shyly, looking up at Emma through her thick lashes.

"Me too," she replied with a smile. Before she could think about what she was doing, she wrapped an arm around Regina's shoulders and bent down slightly to kiss her temple.

Regina was surprised at how soft her lips were against her skin and she sighed softly at the contact. She felt Emma tense slightly as she realized what she had just done.

"I- sorry…" Emma apologized somewhat frantically, moving to withdraw her arm from around Regina's shoulders.

Regina caught Emma's hand in hers and held it to her shoulder. "It's really okay," she reassured, looking kindly up at her. She felt the tension leave her body and the pair continued to walk to the Metro until they had to walk to separate platforms.

"See you tomorrow," Regina said warmly, giving Emma's hand a squeeze as she turned away.

"See ya," Emma offered in return. She found herself missing the warmth of having Regina pressed against her side the whole way home.

The next morning, Emma awoke to her phone buzzing with an email. She sighed at the early hour and rolled over to check the message.

**Subject:** Publicity

**To:** Mills, Regina; Swan, Emma;

_Well done._

_ .  
__ . _

_See you in class,_

_Rupert Gold  
__Artistic Director  
__American National Ballet_

She set her phone back down on the nightstand without bothering to read the articles knowing they wouldn't tell her anything knew. She was terrified to see how her colleagues would react to her coming out. Pretending to be gay was never something she thought she'd have to experience. And after the whole ballet ended what was she supposed to tell Regina? _Ugh._ She groaned internally. _That's a problem for another day_. Without further thought, she threw back the covers and started to get ready for another busy day.

* * *

Notes: My inner arts admin nerd was thriving writing Mulan's response to the first question. I LIVE for the #discourse around the arts and relevance in today's society.

Also, obviously those links are fake.

Thoughts on chapter 8?


End file.
